Jewellery store heists sweep South Korea amid soaring gold prices

Thefts at jewellery stores are on the rise in South Korea amid gold’s record-breaking rally, market watchers said on Thursday.International gold prices recently surpassed US$5,300 per ounce for the first time, driven by weakening confidence in US dollar assets amid geopolitical tensions and recent remarks by US President Donald Trump advocating a weaker dollar.Police reports of attempted gold thefts have risen sharply. The suspects tried to quickly convert the stolen items into cash, police added.In Gwangju, police detained a teenager on Thursday after he posed as a customer and stole a gold bracelet worth 30 million won (US$20,984) from a jewellery store.Last Friday, police in Daejeon booked a teenage boy for allegedly stealing gold bracelets worth about 8 million won from a jewellery store. Authorities are deciding whether to seek an arrest warrant.This followed another case in Suwon, Gyeonggi province, on January 21, involving a middle school student who was detained for attempting to sell jewellery using a forged identity card.