A Self-Employed Person Who Found Checks Worth 68 Million Won on the Street, Who Is the Owner?

Found an Envelope Containing a Bundle of Checks on the Way to Work and Reported It
The Owner of the Checks Has Not Yet Appeared... Must Claim Within 6 Months

[Asia Economy Reporter Hwang Sumi] A self-employed person accidentally found checks worth over 68 million won on the way to work and reported it to the police. However, since no lost item report has been filed yet, it seems difficult to find the owner of the checks.

According to Yonhap News, the Buk-gu Police Station in Gwangju announced that on the 24th, they received a report from a self-employed person, Mr. A, who found an envelope containing a bundle of checks. The envelope was found on the street near Pungam Unriseongdang in Seo-gu. Mr. A, who lives nearby, reportedly picked up the envelope next to a parked car while heading to his store in the morning. Inside the thick envelope were checks totaling about 68 million won, including 10 million won and 1 million won denominations.

Mr. A took photos of the checks on the spot and, after arriving at his office in Unam-dong, Buk-gu, reported the found lost item to the 112 emergency center. The police officer in charge visited Mr. A’s office, accepted the report, and collected the envelope containing the bundle of checks.

This process became known after Mr. A posted about it on an online community. In his post, Mr. A said, "I don’t know how anxious the owner who lost this money must be," and added, "I hope the owner sees this and retrieves it as soon as possible."

It is reported that no phone call claiming to be from the owner of the money envelope has been received by the police yet. The police are trying to find the owner of the checks based on information from financial institutions.

According to the Lost Property Act, found items must be promptly returned to the owner or submitted to the police station that has jurisdiction over the place where the item was found, as Mr. A did. The police who receive the item return it immediately if the owner is identified; if the owner is unknown, they announce it online.

If no owner appears within six months after the announcement, the finder can claim ownership. However, at this time, a tax of 22% as a storage fee must be paid. If the owner of the checks worth 68 million won is not identified by May 24, 2023, about 53 million won, after deducting the 22% tax, will become Mr. A’s property.

Mr. A was also informed of this by the police. He said, "If the owner doesn’t come to claim the checks within six months, the police will deduct 22% tax and give me the rest," adding, "I didn’t return it thinking about that, but I hope the owner comes to claim it soon."