By Kim Rahn
Police investigating the death of a postman in an Incheon apartment building stairway are searching for a man suspected of killing him.
The Namdong Police Station in Incheon said Sunday that they are tracking a man who entered and left the apartment building around the same time the postman presumably died.
The 33-year-old victim, Kim, was found dead in the stairway of the apartment building Thursday morning, about 18 hours after his death.
There were no signs of foul play or a fight at the scene, and police initially reported Kim seemed to have fallen down the stairs to his death between the 16th and 17th floors at around 3 p.m. while trying to quickly deliver parcels.
But an autopsy of his body indicates that he may have died from excessive bleeding after being hit hard on the head with a blunt weapon.
"We suspect the man who appeared on surveillance camera recordings, about 170 centimeters tall and wearing a mask and a cap, was responsible for Kim's death. But we haven't found any fingerprints or footprints,?a police officer said.
The man entered the apartment building about three minutes before Kim arrived and took the elevator to the 19th floor. While Kim presumably died at around 3 p.m., the man left the building at 3:24 p.m.
Footage from surveillance cameras revealed that the same man used the elevator at three other apartment buildings Kim had also visited, entering and leaving several minutes before or after Kim.
But police said according to the footage Kim and the man didn't talk to each other.
Police are asking residents if they saw the man and are checking cameras installed at nearby buildings and roads.
They are also questioning Kim's family and colleagues, suspecting the incident may stem from a grudge, money problems or involve a woman. They are not ruling out the possibility of an accidental murder by a mentally unstable person.
Following the police's initial investigation report that Kim died by missing his footing on the stairs, public attention focused on the poor working conditions of postal workers, who have to deliver an average 2,600 items a day and tend to take the stairs instead of waiting for elevators to speed up the delivery time.