Korean Business Thefts: $40K Stolen in Downtown LA Smash-and-Grab

A wave of Korean business thefts is sweeping through Downtown Los Angeles, especially in the Fashion District, where Korean-owned shops have become repeat targets. Business owners say they’re left on their own, as police and insurers offer little in the way of deterrence or relief.

$40K stolen from longtime shoe store

Around 4 a.m. on April 1, thieves plowed a white SUV into the storefront of Sports Town, a Korean-run shoe store that’s been on the corner of 12th Street and Maple Avenue for 22 years. They rammed the shutters twice, then rushed inside.

Security footage shows four masked men grabbing shoes, cash, and other goods before fleeing within five minutes.

“I lost about $40,000 worth of inventory and $600 in cash,” said store owner Youn-Sik Kim, 71. “This is the second time this has happened.”

Kim said he arrived 30 minutes after the alarm went off, but the suspects were long gone. Last year, he suffered a similar break-in and lost $10,000. “You feel powerless,” he said. “Insurance takes at least a week to send someone out. I can’t touch the scene, so I can’t open my store.”

Kim now plans to install steel bollards this week to stop cars from slamming into the shop again.

Repeat break-ins plague Korean-owned stores

Just steps away, Andy Park, 56, who runs a nearby clothing store, said he was hit twice last year under nearly identical circumstances.

“Four guys drove straight through the front. They took about $1,000, but the broken glass and damage cost me way more,” Park said.

He added that Korean business thefts have spiked since the pandemic. “We have a group chat with other store owners here. Every month, someone’s getting hit.”

At a nearby East Asian medicine clinic, William Kim recalled how two men broke in just after midnight in December. They used a rod to lift the bottom of the shutter and squeezed through the gap. “It cost me $2,500 to fix everything,” he said.

Kim suspects many of these thefts are connected. “One time, the police arrested a suspect, but a few weeks later, I heard he was out and back at it again.”

Light penalties fuel repeat crimes

LAPD Detective Sharon Kim said the area has seen a sharp rise in theft. “The consequences are too weak. People get arrested, but they’re not afraid to do it again,” she said.

Last August, 16 stores—many Korean-owned—were hit in one weekend. Thieves disabled cameras, broke through walls, and struck when most stores were closed. Police believe it was well-coordinated.

For now, business owners say they’re tightening security on their own as Korean business thefts continue to climb—and help remains out of reach.