Part-Time Worker Who Took Discarded Triangle Kimbap Found Guilty of Theft: What Did the Court Decide?

[Financial News] A part-time worker in his 20s who took food items marked for disposal, including expired triangle kimbap, from a convenience store without the owner’s permission was found guilty of theft. The court concluded that he had intentionally taken the items without permission, but suspended the sentence after considering the amount of damage and the fact that some of the items were meant to be discarded.

According to the Chungju branch of the Cheongju District Court on the 17th, presiding judge Kim Joo-hyun of the criminal division sentenced A, 23, who had been indicted on theft charges, to a suspended fine of 200,000 won. A suspended sentence is a system that delays the formal imposition of punishment for relatively minor offenses. If two years pass from the date of suspension, the case is regarded as closed.

A, who worked part-time at a convenience store in Chungju, North Chungcheong Province, was indicted for taking items worth about 28,000 won, including triangle kimbap, plastic bags and cider, on three occasions last September without the owner’s permission. Some of the disputed items were expired food.

During the trial, A admitted to taking the plastic bags. However, he argued that he had no intent to steal the food because he mistakenly believed the owner had allowed him to take items designated for disposal.

The court did not accept A’s argument. It said the owner had instructed employees to register expired food as discarded stock for inventory management and place it in a separate basket. The court also noted that even discarded food could only be eaten in the store or taken outside after receiving the owner’s permission.

The fact that A did not register the items he took as discarded stock also weighed against him. Taking into account that some items, such as cider, were past their expiration date but could not necessarily be regarded as food for disposal, the court found that A at least had a contingent awareness that he had not obtained the owner’s permission.

Presiding Judge Kim said, "The defendant did not register the items in this case as discarded stock, and some items, such as cider, do not appear to be food for disposal," adding, "It is recognized that the defendant took the items while at least being aware that the victim had not given permission."

The court, however, took the actual scale of the damage and the nature of the items into account when determining the sentence. It suspended the 200,000 won fine, citing the fact that A admitted to the offense, the damage was relatively small at about 28,000 won, and some of the items appeared to be expired food.



[email protected] Jung Ji-woo Reporter