By Lee Kyung-min

Over the past two years, 159 women aged 18 or older have been reported missing in Suwon, the Gyeonggi Provincial Police Agency said Thursday.

Suwon is the scene of last month's gruesome "torso murder" in Paldal-gu, in which a Korean-Chinese illegal alien Park Chun-bong killed his Korean-Chinese ex-girlfriend and discarded her body parts in four separate places. Ten women, five each in 2012 and 2013 living in Paldal-gu were reported missing, police said.

In 2012, another Korean-Chinese, Oh Won-choon, kidnapped and killed a 23-year-old woman and cut the body into more than 300 pieces. Oh was jailed for life last year.

Police plan to expand their investigations based on a possible link between the missing women and Park, who was arrested on Dec. 15.

Police said they have designated some districts in Suwon where there are large foreign communities as "vulnerable areas," and will increase patrols and security measure.

Such areas include Maekyo-dong, Kyo-dong, Godeung-dong and Ji-dong, where some 47,000 foreigners including illegal aliens reside.

More foreigners reside in the districts because they work at factories there.