SEOUL, Feb 18 (AFP) - A South Korean who stole 1,200 pairs of expensive shoes from funeral homes while posing as a mourner has been arrested, police in Seoul said Thursday.

The man identified only as Park, 59, took off his own shoes before entering mourning rooms and donned more expensive footwear when he left.

He intended to sell them through his own second-hand shoe business, police in southern Seoul's Suseo district told AFP.

Koreans normally remove outdoor footwear when indoors, especially at funeral homes.

Police said they caught Park stealing three pairs of shoes, worth a total of two million won (1,750 dollars) when new, at one funeral home.

They then raided his warehouse and found 1,200 pairs stored according to size in preparation for resale.

A Suseo police officer who declined to be named said the station had put the footwear on display for the past week and many pairs were reclaimed by owners.