Convenience store worker gets suspended sentence for taking discarded food

A young convenience store worker in South Korea has received a suspended sentence for taking discarded food items. The employee, identified as A and in their 20s, was charged with theft for taking goods valued at approximately 28,000 won (about $20) over three separate occasions last September.

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The store owner instructed that expired food be stored separately and only be taken out with permission.

The defense argued that A believed they had permission to take the expired food, as the store owner had previously indicated that such items could be discarded. However, the court found that the store owner had instructed employees to store expired food separately and only allow its removal with explicit permission.

Despite the owner's instructions, the court acknowledged that A likely took the items with a degree of uncertainty about permission. Judge Kim Ju-hyun of the Cheongju District Court's Chungju Branch ultimately decided on a suspended sentence of a 200,000 won fine. This means the sentence will be waived if A commits no further offenses within two years.

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It is recognized that the defendant took the items without the victim's permission, even if only indirectly.

The court cited A's admission of guilt, the relatively small amount of money involved, and the fact that some of the taken items were past their expiration date as factors in determining the sentence. The ruling comes as courts across South Korea enter a two-week recess.

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Considering that the defendant admits to the crime, the amount of damage is not large, and some of the taken items appear to be expired food, the sentence was determined.