3,519 Theft Cases Last Year
Theft Crimes Increased by 85.7% Compared to the Previous Year
"Warning to Report to Police by Posting CCTV Footage Photos Is All"
Around 11 p.m. on May 19, a man estimated to be in his 30s to 40s was stealing refrigerated food items at an unmanned meal kit convenience store in Tanhyeon-dong, Ilsanseo-gu, Goyang-si. To avoid leaving fingerprints, he held the refrigerator handle with the end of his sleeve. [Image source=Yonhap News]
[Asia Economy Intern Reporter Kim Gun-chan] "That's how unmanned stores are. Some people just steal, and some try to be clever by swiping their cards in the direction without a magnetic strip."
Park (48), who runs an unmanned convenience store in Jung-gu, Seoul, is deeply troubled by thieves stealing goods. Park said, "Many cases were caught because they took items without caring about CCTV or anything," adding, "The theft problem has become so severe that I honestly want to sell it off as soon as possible." Recently, there have been more homeless people stealing items. Park said, "Since homeless people do not have a fixed residence, most of them cannot be caught," and "It seems like the homeless know this, so thefts keep increasing."
Theft crimes at unmanned stores have been continuously occurring recently. According to media reports on the 21st, two teenagers were booked by the police on charges of stealing about 5 million won in cash by visiting 21 unmanned stores in the Gwanak-gu and Geumcheon-gu areas on the 11th. A man in his 60s was also prosecuted for stealing goods about 30 times over nine months from unmanned stores in Dobong-gu starting from September last year.
Theft crimes occurring at unmanned stores are on a significant rise. According to manually compiled statistics before the police started official counts, the number of theft cases at unmanned stores was 203 in 2019 and 367 in 2020. Then, from March last year when official counts began until the end of the same year, the number of theft cases at unmanned stores surged to 3,519. This year, 1,293 cases occurred in the first three months from January to March.
The analysis results from the security company S-1 are similar. Analyzing big data from client unmanned stores from January 2020 to last month, theft crimes last year increased by 85.7% compared to the previous year.
The reason unmanned stores have become hotbeds for theft crimes is that many do not have separate security systems. Since closed-circuit television (CCTV) is the only security system, self-employed operators of unmanned stores agree that unmanned stores are inevitably vulnerable to theft.
Park, in his 30s, who runs an unmanned ice cream store in Seongdong-gu, said, "The only thing we do is post photos of the CCTV footage showing the theft in the store and warn that we will report to the police." Another Park, who runs an unmanned convenience store, said, "Many thieves come back after stealing once, so we post photos of the CCTV footage," adding, "This is the only way to respond."
The big problem is that there is no definite measure to prevent theft crimes occurring at unmanned stores. Since there is no other method besides CCTV, store owners have to just watch the theft crimes happen. Park lamented, "Posting photos is just a way to scare them," and "There is no practical method." The Park who runs the unmanned ice cream store also said, "Because theft incidents are frequent, first-time offenders are not even reported."
Experts suggest that responses should be able to prevent crimes through various methods, including CCTV. Oh Yoon-sung, a professor of police administration at Soonchunhyang University, emphasized, "Using methods such as sounding warning alarms can make thieves feel burdened when they enter."
In this regard, unmanned stores equipped with security systems other than CCTV are also emerging. The system requires credit card recognition to enter, similar to general convenience store entry systems. A, who runs an unmanned meal kit store in Seongdong-gu, said, "To enter the store at night, we use a system where you have to recognize a card like a credit card at the door for it to open."
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