Convenience Store Part-Timer Steals 10 Million Won and Wastes It on Online Gambling... Why Is Fraud Charge Applied?

"Part-time worker steals 10 million won"
All stolen money lost in online gambling
Theft charge not applicable... Computer fraud charge applied

A convenience store hired a short-term substitute part-time worker (part-timer) and ended up losing 10 million won to theft within 8 hours, sparking controversy.

On the 29th of last month, a post titled "I hired a substitute part-timer for my convenience store and got robbed of 10 million won in just 8 hours" was uploaded on an online community. The post gained significant attention, with approximately 79,130 views and about 1,180 recommendations. The author, Mr. A, who identified himself as the convenience store owner, said, "I’m so frustrated and don’t know how to resolve this, so I’m posting here." He continued, "Last weekend, I hired a part-timer for one day through a part-time job platform. I only checked their ID and bankbook copy before starting work."

Mr. A explained, "The shift was from 12 PM to 11 PM, so I wasn’t paying much attention. Around 8 PM, when I was about to place orders for items sold over the weekend, I checked the sales details and noticed that transportation card and N-PAY recharge records were being logged every few seconds." He added, "I told my husband it was suspicious and suggested going to the store. On the way, we reported it to the police. The police arrived first and detained the person, and when we got there and opened the safe, we found nearly 10 million won in cash sales that we hadn’t deposited."

The part-timer, Mr. B, reportedly made a profit of nearly 10 million won by making 142 cash transactions and converting the money into cash through secondhand markets. Mr. B then used all the money for online gambling. Mr. A said, "The police arrested Mr. B on the spot, charging him with computer fraud." He added, "However, since we hired him, it doesn’t qualify as theft or robbery." He continued, "This was a premeditated act, but how could we have known he would commit fraud? He immediately bet all the stolen money on online gambling and lost it all. We want to recover the damages, but since the money is gone, it’s frustrating," and asked for advice.

Netizens who read the story responded with comments such as, "Kids these days are scary, really bold," "That’s theft, no matter what they say. If this isn’t punished as theft, more part-timers like this will appear," "Judging by the elaborate method, he probably has a criminal record," "The law is too weak, so this happens," and "People like that will just go to jail and not care."

Meanwhile, computer fraud refers to a crime committed by inputting false information or unauthorized commands into a computer or other information processing device to obtain property benefits or cause a third party to obtain them. It is considered a special type of fraud. Since it involves obtaining illegal benefits using machines, it shares characteristics with crimes such as unauthorized use of convenience facilities.