Purchase Sandwich with Smartphone Easy Payment
Owner Misunderstands Non-Payment and Posts Face Photo
Student's Parent Sues Owner for Defamation and Other Charges
An unmanned store owner who mistakenly identified a female middle school student as a thief and publicly posted her face photo has been handed over to the prosecution.
According to Yonhap News Agency, the Jungbu Police Station in Incheon on the 19th booked the owner in his 40s, Mr. A, without detention on charges of defamation and sent him to the prosecution. Mr. A is accused of damaging the reputation of middle school student Ms. B by posting a photo of the CCTV screen showing her face inside his unmanned sandwich store located in Jung-gu, Incheon, on the 1st.
The face of a middle school girl mistakenly identified as a thief by an unmanned sandwich store. [Image source=Yonhap News]
On the 29th of last month, Ms. B purchased a 3,400 won sandwich at Mr. A’s store using a 'smartphone easy payment.' However, Mr. A misunderstood that the payment had not been made, captured a photo of the CCTV screen showing Ms. B’s face, and posted it inside the store. Mr. A publicly displayed Ms. B’s face photo without mosaic processing and wrote below the photo, "A woman who bought a sandwich, pretended to pay, pressed the 'screen reset' button, and just took it!! Did you kindly leave your face front and center on the CCTV screen? Please contact us."
Later, Ms. B’s parents filed a complaint requesting punishment for Mr. A on charges of defamation and insult. They stated that Mr. A damaged their daughter’s reputation and caused humiliation by publicly exposing her face without properly verifying the payment details and expressed their desire for punishment.
After learning belatedly that Ms. B had paid for the sandwich normally, Mr. A told Yonhap News Agency, "I posted the face photo out of resentment, thinking she was boldly committing theft, but I want to express my apologies to the hurt student." During the police investigation, he claimed, "I mistook Ms. B for a thief because there was no payment record on the payment device (kiosk)," and "I posted Ms. B’s photo in the store without knowing it was illegal."
A post containing photos of a couple in their 30s who were mistaken for thieves at an unmanned store within an apartment complex[Image source=Yonhap News]
Cases like Ms. B’s, where customers who paid at unmanned stores are wrongly accused of theft, have been frequently confirmed recently. Last month, a couple in their 30s who bought ice cream at an unmanned store in an apartment complex were mistaken for thieves, and their face photos were publicly posted. Mr. C, the husband, went to the unmanned store in the apartment shopping area with his wife on the evening of the 9th of last month, purchased four ice creams, and paid 3,400 won via kiosk easy payment.
About 10 days later, on the 22nd of the same month, Mr. C visited the same unmanned store with his wife and was shocked. At the entrance of the unmanned store, a CCTV video capture photo showing the side profiles of him and his wife’s faces was posted. Below the photo was a message saying, 'Please contact us if you left without paying for four ice creams around 7:50 p.m. on June 9, 2024.'
Mr. C contacted the store owner using the phone number posted inside the store to complain. After confirming the payment was normal, the owner apologized to Mr. and Mrs. C via text message. In the message, he wrote, "We apologize for posting your photos without permission," and "We will refund ten times the purchase amount." Subsequently, 34,000 won was transferred to both Mr. C and his wife, but they did not accept the money. Mr. C said, "I would have preferred a phone call or face-to-face apology rather than sending a long message," and "I was not requesting verification (such as payment details) to receive compensation." It is reported that the couple is considering filing a complaint for defamation if the owner does not offer a sincere apology.
Even if a theft suspicion incident occurs at an unmanned store, publicly posting a customer’s face photo inside the store can lead to criminal punishment for defamation. In March, an unmanned stationery store owner who posted a photo of an elementary school student suspected of theft inside the store was fined 300,000 won in the first trial.
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