Now the same nickname is being used to describe several more serial rapists who have been arrested or are on the loose. The Daejeon, Yongin, Shiheung "balbaries" have all been caught but a Seoul "balbarie" is still at large.

Translated literally, "Balbarie" means a spaniel, or a Pekingese dog. It's a derogatory term used to describe a sex-crazed man who spends all his time chasing women.

But the levity the nickname implies has prompted protests from the Korea Sexual Violence Relief Center. "The comic connotation attached to the name may detract from the severity of the crimes, further humiliating the rape victims," said Jeongha Kyoung-joo of Korea Women Link.

There is a famous comic book, "Memories of the Balbarie" featuring a character named the "Balbarie" who has a strong sexual desire and chases many, many women.

The man caught in Daejeon, Lee Joong-gu, was an apparently normal, friendly 45 year-old man with a wife and children. He was also a taxi driver who made a comfortable living. But for the past 10 years, he is suspected of raping 110 victims.

Lee's first rape victim was a woman who, he claims, made a disparaging remark to him about not knowing the roads well while riding in his cab. He followed her home and raped her.

When news reports about the rapes in Daejeon emerged, Lee started picking out rape victims in different locations around the nation. When in Daejeon, he approached his victims by asking them for directions so that he would not be recognized as a Daejeon citizen.

"Lee's DNA matched the victims of 77 rape cases that occurred nationwide from 1998. He is also the leading suspect of 30 rapes that occurred from 1996," said a police officer at the Daejeon Dongbu police agency.

Lee chose his rape victims during the early morning hours and then entered their houses by climbing gas pipes to go through windows or unlocked doors.

Officers at Mapo police station and the investigation task force headquarters in Ahyeon-dong have been reluctant to disclose anything about the suspect. The rapist covered his victims' faces when raping them so there are no clear reports about his face. He did not leave fingerprints, so that there is no clear evidence to track down the rapist. His identity is unknown.

Efforts have been made to create a montage of the suspect from victims' accounts. They reveal a somewhat handsome, pale, slim face with feminine features, apparently in the early or mid-twenties.

Hwang Gyu-in, leader of the police team tracking down the rapist at Mapo Police Agency said "the best way to take precautions against the rapist is to keep your doors locked, 24 hours a day. Avoid entering closed areas with a stranger, even if it is the elevator in your apartment complex," he said.

"I get nervous and scared when I go into narrow alleys. So I think I have to go home early from now on," said Yoo Ji-min, a 25 year-old in Mapo-dong.

The Mapo police agency has received severe criticism, for being late in its action against the rapist, only beginning their investigation after media reports on the serial rapists created a national scare.

It was only in the past week that the police created a headquarters to begin sweeping possible areas where the suspect may be residing. More than 80 officers are on emergency duty and Mapo police have received support staff from other district agencies.

The police received the results of the DNA analysis from the National Institute of Scientific Investigation on the 20th last month. "We were surprised when we got the results," said a police officer. "We had assumed that the criminal methods were similar, but we could not confirm it was the same criminal because the victims' accounts were all different," a Mapo police officer said.

The officer also refuted charges that the police investigation has been slow to produce results. "Creating a headquarters for the investigation is not as effective as you may think. There may be added pressure to produce results that would hinder the progress of the probe," he said.

The NISI, however, said that it sent the DNA results to the police agency each time a crime occurred and a DNA analysis was conducted. "Each time a rape occurred, we ran DNA tests and found that it was the same suspect each time," said an NISI official, contradicting the Mapo police officer's statement.

Kwon Joo-hee of The Korea Sexual Violence Relief Center said "with regard to preventing further crimes, it is important for the police to disclose information about the suspect."

The police, on the other hand, have said that "we have kept the probe undercover because of concern that the identity of the rape victims would be disclosed." Another police officer mentioned the added pressure that officers come under when the investigation receives public attention.

On Wednesday, a 25 year-old man with the surname Park was caught In Siheung, Gyeonggi Province having raped 10 women living alone in one-room apartments. DNA analyses on the 10 victims revealed Park to be the culprit.

The rapes were committed mostly at midday. The rapist entered houses that were left unlocked after following women returning home from supermarkets. He then threatened them with a weapon. After raping his victims, he stole their cell phones and money.

Park is known to have searched for houses where women lived alone by looking at the laundry laid out in the verandahs. After raping his victims, he took photographs of them naked and took their identification cards, threatening to make the photographs public if the victims went to the police.

In another part of town, in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province, a 38 year-old man was arrested on Tuesday suspected of raping 12 elementary school students on their way home.

The man approached the schoolchildren and told them "You have a package delivery". He then took them to the basement of the apartment complex to commit the rapes. Police collected hair and sperm samples and sent them to the National Institute of Scientific Investigation for DNA analysis. The results matched the same suspect.

The rapist targeted schoolchildren who were too young to even understand that they were being raped. The parents of the victims were reluctant to report the rapes to the police because of concern about the child's future reputation.

What is known about the rapist is that his computer showed an addiction to Internet pornography. On his "Favorites" page, police found dozens of indexed pornographic sites.

Citizens have expressed anger towards the Yongin rapist. "How is this humanly possible? How can he target young elementary school, junior high school children?" said a citizen who could not finish her sentence.

Experts correlate the recent emergence of rapists with the rise in unemployment levels. They say these men take out their personal frustrations on helpless victims.

Mounting criticism is weighed at the media's sensational portrayal of the rapist as a "balbarie" - critics says this increases the chances of criminals imitating the methods used by caught rapists.

Psychologists say that such rapists have a psychopathic tendency - they do not have a conscience when committing these horrible crimes. Rather, their personality disorder does not allow them to realize the consequences of their actions.

Lee Soo-jeong, professor of criminal psychology at Kyonggi University says that "the rapists may be justifying their crimes by saying they did not murder the women or physically harm their bodies."

"The Daejeon rapist did not commit murder, but the rapes were not accidental, they were carefully planned, intelligent crimes, which shows the high possibility that he is a psychopath.

"That he led an ordinary married life without suspicion from his neighbors, and continued his crimes even while the police were tracking him down, indicates clearly that he is a psychopathic," she said.

Psychology experts say the rapist may be repeating the crimes to feed an addiction to a feeling of male superiority. "These rapists feel the impulse to repeat the experience that has left a strong impression on them," said Kwak Dae-kyoung, a professor of police administration at Dongguk University.

"The victims have experienced great trauma. They have trouble meeting other people, and they are in an immense state of shock," said Lee Kyung-soo of Yongin police agency.

"Because women do not report the crimes, it is hard to find out the identity of the criminals," said Chung Sung-ho, a police officer in Shiheung.

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