



By Jung Hae-myoung







A hungry burglar has landed himself in hot water after breaking into several restaurants to eat rather than steal.







The man, 23, broke into a Korean galbi restaurant in Gwangju in the middle of the night and started cooking the dish in a frypan after raiding the fridge.







After eating, he cleaned up the table, washed the dishes and left the building.







His next foodie foray happened a few days later when he broke into an Italian restaurant. A security camera caught him in the act of eating two cups of yogurt and leaving.







The burglar, surnamed Lee, was released from prison in April after serving a year and two months behind bars.







The suspect, with more than 10 criminal convictions, was apparently more interested in eating than stealing money, according to his latest charges.







Gwangju police have been investigating Lee over the break-ins.







Although he dreamt of becoming a wrestler, Lee now lives in an empty building and sneaks into closed restaurants to sate his hunger, police said. They alleged he gets most of his basic needs from stealing.







Police said Lee was raised by relatives until he was in high school. He started living as a nomad after graduation.







"We once offered him Chinese food that we were going to order for delivery while we were investigating him," a Gwangju police officer who met Lee told Yonhap.







"Apparently this guy had sneaked into this Chinese restaurant before and said he saw cockroaches in the kitchen. We never get Chinese food from that place now."

