50s Man Sniffs Female Boss's Shoes 13 Times.. Appeals Court Also 'Fined 2 Million Won'

[Financial News]  A man in his 50s who continuously sniffed the shoes left by a female cafe owner he was supplying goods to, was sentenced to a fine in the appeals court as well.

According to the legal community on the 26th, the Suwon District Court Criminal Appeals Division 1-3 (Presiding Judge Kim Jong-geun) dismissed the appeal of Mr. A (51), who was indicted on charges of violating the Act on the Punishment of Stalking Crimes, and upheld the original sentence of a 2 million won fine and 40 hours of a stalking treatment program.

Mr. A was put on trial for persistently and repeatedly stalking against the victim's will without just cause, by sniffing the shoes of a female cafe owner, Ms. B, whom he supplied goods to, 13 times in the Gyeonggi area from December 2022 to March 2023.

It was reported that Mr. A picked up and sniffed Ms. B's shoes placed on the cafe kitchen floor.

In April 2023, Ms. B received a call from someone saying "I want to smell your shoes" and checked all the store's closed-circuit (CC)TVs to file a complaint against Mr. A.

Mr. A claimed it was merely out of curiosity and that he had no intention regarding stalking behavior, but the court did not accept this.

The court pointed out, "The defendant claims it was due to 'fetishism' and merely out of curiosity, not with the intention of stalking, but even if it was an action induced by curiosity, this act cannot be seen as a reasonable act within the bounds of social norms."

It continued, "The defendant persistently and repeatedly sniffed the victim's shoes for about 3 months, and even went so far as to find the shoes hidden by the victim to sniff them, making it difficult to see this obsessive and repetitive behavior as merely out of curiosity."

Furthermore, "When comparing with the original trial, there is no significant change in the sentencing conditions, and even after reviewing the sentencing factors shown in the records, it is difficult to see that the original sentence was excessively heavy and exceeded the reasonable scope of discretion," the court explained the reason for the sentencing.

newssu@fnnews.com Kim Soo-yeon Reporter