A airgun and over 60 rounds of live ammunition were found at a defunct factory in Guro-gu, Seoul, prompting police to launch an investigation.
The Guro Police Station announced on the 11th that they discovered one 5.5mm airgun, 18 rounds of airgun pellets, and over 50 military-grade cartridges at a factory in the Guro Industrial Complex on the 9th and collected them.
The factory had been operated by a man in his 70s, referred to as Mr. A, as a tenant for about 20 years, but it had been left abandoned for over a year due to poor business. A waste collection company discovered the firearms and ammunition while cleaning the interior at the request of the landlord.
The firearms and ammunition were confirmed to be unregistered. The police regard Mr. A as the owner of the firearms and have initiated a preliminary investigation into violations of the Gun and Firearms Control Act. However, Mr. A has not yet responded to police contact, and his whereabouts are unknown.
To gather information about the manufacture year of the firearms and airgun pellets, the police requested an appraisal from the Korean National Police Agency's Firearms and Explosives Safety Technology Association. Additionally, military-grade cartridges are being sent to a nearby military base for examination.
According to the Firearms and Explosives Act, all firearms, including airguns, must be stored in police station armories and cannot be possessed without separate permission.