40s Housekeeper Who 'Sneaked' Chanel Bag and Rolex, Found to Have Reoffended Just 1 Year After Release

Luxury Bags and Watches Worth 50 Million KRW Stolen
Committed Crime Again During Repeat Offender Period for Similar Offenses

A woman in her 40s who stole luxury bags and watches multiple times from the house where she worked as a housekeeper was sentenced to imprisonment.

On the 30th, Judge Park Sook-hee of the Daejeon District Court Criminal Division 7 announced that she sentenced A (45, female), who was indicted on theft charges, to one year in prison. A was prosecuted for stealing two Chanel bags and a Rolex watch worth a total of approximately 50 million KRW from three victims' homes in the Daejeon and Sejong areas over two months, including stealing a Chanel bag from the master bedroom wardrobe while working as a housekeeper at an apartment in Yuseong-gu, Daejeon on September 4 last year.

She had previously been sentenced to one year and ten months in prison for similar offenses and fraud, served her sentence at Daejeon Prison, and was released on parole in July 2022. However, she committed another crime just one year after reentering society.

Judge Park pointed out, "Although the defendant is reflecting on her wrongdoing, she committed the crime during the recidivism period due to previous similar offenses, which is highly condemnable." He further explained the reason for the sentencing, stating, "Severe punishment is necessary as the damages have not been restored."

Meanwhile, in January, another woman in her 40s who stole luxury clothing and other items worth tens of millions of KRW from the house where she had worked as a housekeeper for four years was also sentenced to imprisonment. On January 21, Judge Park Sang-jun of the Suwon District Court Criminal Division 2 announced that he sentenced B to one year in prison on theft charges. B was indicted for stealing items worth approximately 43 million KRW over 34 occasions from an apartment in Hwaseong-si, Gyeonggi Province, between 2021 and April 2023. She hid a luxury padded jacket worth 1.5 million KRW in a bag from the wardrobe in the victim C’s child’s room while C was away from home. It is known that she worked as a housekeeper at C’s home for about four years from June 2019 until the crime was discovered.

Judge Park stated, "The defendant, who worked as a housekeeper in the victim’s home, abused the trust relationship to continuously steal high-priced shoes, clothing, and other items owned by the victim. Considering the circumstances and details of the crime, the number of offenses, and the amount of damage, the nature of the crime is serious." He added, "In the early stages of the investigation, the defendant denied the crimes and attempted to destroy evidence, only admitting to the crimes after the evidence was revealed, which reflects very poorly on the post-crime circumstances."

However, Judge Park acquitted B of the charges related to stealing four luxury bags belonging to C. He explained, "Although the recorded closed-circuit television (CCTV) footage strongly suggests that the bags were stolen, there is no footage showing B carrying the bags, and the bags were not found during the search and seizure. There is also no evidence indicating that the bags were disposed of to a third party, even though B and her family appeared to have worn the stolen clothing." Regarding the sentencing, he noted, "About half of the stolen items were returned to the victim, and after the conclusion of the trial, B deposited 50 million KRW as compensation for the damages, which was taken into consideration."