Police seek arrest warrant for 'Suwon zombie' video subject after meth discovery

Police have applied for an arrest warrant for a man in his 30s who is alleged to have been the focus of the viral “Suwon zombie” video, after investigators reportedly found methamphetamine at his home, authorities said Monday.

The Gyeonggi Nambu Provincial Police Agency said the warrant application was based on allegations the man possessed a small amount of methamphetamine and used a controlled psychotropic drug supplied by an acquaintance.

The application does not cover the suspected methamphetamine use associated with the viral video because investigators have been unable to establish when and where any such use occurred, police said. The acquaintance is being investigated separately for allegedly supplying the other drug.

The man came under police scrutiny after footage recorded June 21 near a bus stop in Gwonseon-gu, Suwon, Gyeonggi Province, showed him hunched over with his arms hanging loosely and apparently struggling to maintain his balance. Posted online the following day, the video circulated under the nickname “Suwon zombie.”

Police identified and arrested the man on June 23 after tracking him through surveillance footage. A preliminary test returned a positive result for methamphetamine, but he was released after a urine test came back negative.

Police previously applied twice for warrants to detain the man, but prosecutors declined to seek them from a court, citing insufficient evidence to determine when and where he had allegedly used drugs.

The man had also been investigated separately on drug-related suspicions by Manan Police Station in Anyang, Gyeonggi Province, but officers did not secure any drugs during that investigation.

Police continued investigating him without detention and found indications of possible drug use through a forensic examination of his mobile phone. A subsequent hair analysis also tested positive for drugs.

A later search of his home turned up methamphetamine in a plastic zipper bag, according to police.

The man reportedly denies using drugs. He claims the methamphetamine found at his home had been there since the earlier investigation by Manan Police Station and had not been seized at the time.