"Inserted Ice Cream into Card Terminal and Left"...Angry Unmanned Store Owner

Causing Malfunction by Inserting Popsicle into Card Machine
Owner Frustrated: "Travel and Repair Costs Total 300,000 Won"

A story has emerged about an unmanned photo studio owner who suffered damages worth hundreds of thousands of won after a customer left a popsicle stuck in the card terminal, causing it to melt and break down.

On the 28th, a post by a person identified as A, who operates an unmanned photo studio, was uploaded to the self-employed online community 'Apeunikka Sajangida' ("Because It Hurts, I'm the Boss"). A complained, "In the early morning, two adult men came with popsicles in their mouths, and before taking photos, they stuck the popsicle sticks into the terminal and left them there." Due to the melted popsicle, the card terminal broke down, and A claimed to have suffered a total loss of 300,000 won, including the cost of the terminal and the service call fee.

A man with a popsicle in his mouth is entering an unmanned photo booth (left), and a card terminal ruined by melted ice cream (right) [Image source: Captured from the online community 'Apeunikka Sajangida']

In the photos A posted, one man is seen holding a popsicle in his mouth while carrying props with both hands as he approaches the photo equipment. During the photo shoot, since there was no suitable place to put the popsicle, he stuck the stick into the card swiping slot of the card terminal. The last photo posted by A shows the entire card terminal covered in melted popsicle.

A checked the card company used for the payment and called them, but the card company responded, "Due to privacy and other issues, we cannot intervene." He asked if they could at least pass his number on to the customer, but the card company refused. Frustrated, A asked online, "Is reporting to the police the only option?" and "If I report, can they catch the culprit?" seeking advice from netizens.

In response, one netizen commented, "If you report to the police, they will catch them immediately. No need to request the card company." A replied, "I wanted to resolve this amicably by contacting them personally, but the card company is not helping." Other netizens expressed outrage with comments like "This is beyond imagination," "I would report it," and "I seriously want to hit them."

Meanwhile, as various unmanned stores increase, incidents of theft, property damage, and even inappropriate behavior such as urinating in the stores are also on the rise, causing public dismay. On December 16 last year, in Wonju, Gangwon Province, a high school student entered an unmanned store in the early morning, took snacks, and tried to pay at the kiosk. When the payment did not go through, he damaged the store's fixtures and was charged with property damage. CCTV footage installed in the unmanned store showed him moving erratically as if intoxicated, kicking display racks with products, and throwing items by hand, causing chaos for about 40 minutes. In the same month, an unmanned store owner shared a story about a boy who appeared to be an elementary school student repeatedly trying to insert white paper into the bill slot instead of money, causing the owner to worry about the machine breaking down.

According to a security company S-1’s analysis of unmanned store crime trends over the past five years, teenagers accounted for 52% of theft offenders, followed by people in their 20s at 36%, 30s at 7%, and 40s at 5%. By day of the week, crimes were concentrated on weekends (34%), and by time, mostly during late night hours from midnight to 6 a.m. (61%). The types of crimes were mostly targeting cash and goods (91%). Most offenders used tools such as scissors, hammers, and screwdrivers to damage unmanned order machines (kiosks) and steal cash (91%). There were also cases where the entire kiosk or coin exchange machine was stolen (9%). By industry, unmanned laundromats (33%) and unmanned photo studios (33%) had particularly high proportions. Since most of these stores accept cash rather than card payments, they became targets for crime.