Part-timer who pressed "Order Canceled" 239 times... 1st Trial Also Says "Damage Is Significant"

Setting Business Status to 'Temporarily Suspended'
Approximately 5.4 Million Won in Damages Over 5 Months
Part-Time Worker: "Canceled When Ingredients Were Missing or Spoiled"
Court: "No Attitude Showing Acknowledgment of Fault"

The court sentenced a woman in her 20s, who repeatedly and unilaterally canceled orders through a delivery application and changed the store's operating status to "temporarily closed," thereby obstructing business operations, to a suspended sentence. On the 20th, Judge Kim Ju-young, head of Criminal Division 3 at the Busan District Court East Branch, announced that A, who was indicted on charges of obstruction of business, was sentenced to one year in prison with a two-year suspension.

Image to aid understanding of the article [Asia Economy file photo]

A is accused of secretly canceling delivery orders 239 times while working at restaurants in Haeundae-gu and Geumjeong-gu, Busan, from March 1 to July 26, 2021. Due to A's habitual order cancellations, B's restaurant suffered damages estimated at approximately 5.36 million won over about five months.

A is also accused of manipulating the delivery app to change the store's operating status to "temporarily closed" about 60 times over approximately 42 hours, thereby obstructing B's business. The temporary closure function is a feature that can be set on the delivery app's order reception channel according to the restaurant's circumstances, such as when orders are overwhelming or the opening is delayed beyond the scheduled time.

A claimed that orders were canceled "at customers' requests, when food ingredients were spoiled or unavailable, when working alone and deliveries were too overwhelming, in delivery-restricted areas or blacklisted zones, or during bad weather." Regarding the temporary closure, A reportedly told the police, "I was receiving hospital treatment due to poor health," and "I told B I wanted to take a break from the part-time job, but was told to come to work, so I set the status to 'temporarily closed' and rested."

However, the court did not accept A's claims. The court pointed out, "Considering that A did not submit any evidence to substantiate these claims and there is no record of reporting the facts to B, it is difficult to view the cancellations as having been made for legitimate reasons." The court added, "A did not admit wrongdoing and was not forgiven by the victim. Frequent temporary closures and order cancellations significantly damaged consumer trust in the victim's restaurant, causing considerable harm. Taking into account that A has no prior criminal record before this case, the sentence was determined accordingly."