Foreign Gang Sentenced to Prison for Stealing Clothes Worth Tens of Millions of Won from Famous Brand Stores

Theft by Packing Clothes in a Specially Made Bag

A group that stole approximately 33 million won worth of clothes from famous brand stores such as Uniqlo and H&M was sentenced to prison.

A clothing store in Myeongdong, Seoul. Not related to the article / Photo by Moon Honam munonam@

On the 28th, Judge Jang Min-seok of the Seoul Southern District Court Criminal Division 4 sentenced A (33) and B (31), Vietnamese nationals accused of special theft, to two years in prison; C (34) to two years and six months in prison; and Kim (32), who naturalized from Vietnam to Korea, to one year in prison with a two-year probation.

The court stated, "This case involves the defendants systematically dividing roles and stealing clothes while moving between clothing stores. Considering the number of offenses, the nature, and the method, the crime is very serious," adding, "In particular, B and C have consistently offered unacceptable excuses and have not reflected on their wrongdoing."

They were charged with committing the crimes by creating specially made bags designed to disable theft prevention systems and using the opportunity when mall employees' surveillance was lax to put clothes displayed in stores into the bags and take them outside.

Using this method, from March 9 to March 12, they stole clothing worth a total of 33,456,300 won over seven occasions from clothing stores in Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul, as well as in Hanam, Gyeonggi Province, and Gangseo-gu, Seoul. Kim was investigated for assisting the crime by providing his car and lodging to the group.