Worker cleared of stealing snacks from office after colleagues all say they do the same

1. Asia
2. East Asia

More than three dozen colleagues ‘risk investigation for theft charges’ by admitting to taking snacks from same fridge

On The Ground newsletter: Get a weekly dispatch from our international correspondents

Get a weekly dispatch from our international correspondents

Get a weekly international news dispatch

I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice

A South Korean security guard has been cleared of stealing snacks worth £0.54 from his workplace after dozens of colleagues came forward to testify that they have been doing the same for years.

The Jeonju District Court overturned a lower court’s judgment that fined the worker 50,000 won (£26), ruling that he did not have the intent to steal.

The case dates to January 2024 when the guard, 41, ate a Choco Pie and a custard cake worth a combined 1,050 won (£0.54) from the fridge of a logistics company in Wanju in the North Jeolla province.

The snack is a small cake made of soft sponge layers with a marshmallow filling and a chocolate coating and is known by different names around the world. A similar treat goes by the name Wagon Wheels in the UK, Moon Pies or “Marshmallow Pies” in the US and angel pie in Japan.

The guard’s employer reported him for theft after seeing the incident on CCTV, leading to prosecutors pursuing a summary indictment.

While the prosecutors initially sought a fine of 500,000 won (£258), the security guard requested a full trial because a confirmed theft conviction would have barred him from continuing in the industry.

A court found him guilty in May and imposed a fine of 50,000 won, prompting criticism over what many saw as a disproportionate punishment.

“The snacks were customarily treated as communal,” the guard’s lawyer said during the trial, according to Korea Joongang Daily.

“Do people have to ask permission every time they take a snack or a drink that’s being provided in an open space? Had he really intended to steal, they would have taken the whole box, not just one or two packs. This just goes to prove that they had no intention to steal.”

The lower court said the fridge was located inside the office space, separate from the waiting area for drivers, and that long-standing custom did not override the need for explicit permission.

Prosecutors changed their position when the guard appealed the ruling, asking the district court to issue a suspended sentence rather than insisting on guilt, a shift prompted in part by heavy public criticism and by the recommendation of a civic committee convened to examine their handling of the case.

According to a report in the Korea Herald, labour groups argued that the case showed “disproportionate punishment against subcontracted workers”, with some comparing the treatment of the guard to Jean Valjean from Les Misérables.

The guard’s union separately argued that workers had long been told they could eat the snacks and indicated that the complaint could be tied to workplace tensions and union activity.

During a parliamentary audit, Democratic Party lawmaker Seo Young Kyo criticised the handling of the case, asking why a fourth-tier subcontracted employee had been put on trial for eating snacks worth so little.

In the end, the intervention by the guard’s co-workers likely proved pivotal. At least 39 colleagues “risked investigation for theft charges” by submitting statements admitting they had taken snacks from the fridge. One delivery driver even appeared as a witness to say that “we freely ate the prepared snacks” when arriving before dawn.

The appellate judges accepted their testimony, concluding the guard could reasonably have believed that he had permission and, therefore, lacked criminal intent. They also observed that no employee had ever previously been disciplined for similar behaviour.

The court further highlighted that drivers had been told they could eat the snacks and that security staff also ate during night shifts.

The manager of the logistics office held a sharply different view, insisting that the case was fundamentally about trust and security. He argued, according to The Korea Times, that subcontracted guards weren’t authorised to open the fridge “unlike its staff”.

He had never granted permission for anyone to take food, he added, and described the situation as akin to “leaving fish with a cat”.

After the acquittal, the guard’s lawyer thanked the public for the outrage over the case.

“This outcome was possible thanks to the attention and concern from the public and the press. The defendant was deeply ashamed to have faced trial over eating a snack because he was hungry at dawn,” he said, according to a report in Korea Bizwire.

More about

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Most popular

Popular videos

Bulletin

Read next