Laughing Together While Viewing Theft Warning Signs
Repeated Theft Incidents Lead Store Owner to Decide on Closure
Footage has been released showing women stealing items from an unmanned store while covering their faces and fleeing the scene. Despite being on the run for a year, the victims are preparing to close their business due to repeated theft incidents. On the 28th, JTBC's 'Sageon Banjang' reported on a theft incident that occurred last summer at an unmanned store in Paju, Gyeonggi Province. CCTV footage released by the victim, owner A, shows three women entering the store with their faces covered by their hands and masks. They looked around the store before opening the refrigerator and selecting drinks and ice cream.
Before long, the women carried their fully packed shopping baskets to the checkout counter, covering their faces with their hands and mobile phones even while scanning each barcode. They even laughed after seeing a theft warning sign. Eventually, they calmly left the store with unpaid items. The stolen products were reported to be worth about 50,000 won.
Owner A lamented, "We have not been able to catch them for over a year," adding, "Recently, the police said during a dawn patrol, 'Isn't the open door tempting theft?' It’s really frustrating." He continued, "Repeated theft incidents have caused damage worth millions of won. Recently, we suffered a theft loss of 650,000 won," and added, "We are preparing to close the business."
52% of theft crimes in unmanned stores involve teenagers
As unmanned stores continue to increase nationwide, petty thefts by minors are also rising significantly. According to data submitted by the National Police Agency to Chae Hyun-il, a member of the National Assembly’s Public Administration and Security Committee from the Democratic Party of Korea, on the 28th, petty thefts under 10,000 won accounted for 23,967 cases last year, making up 12.7% of the total. Theft cases between 10,000 won and 100,000 won numbered 56,574, accounting for 29.9% of the total.
In the case of minors, many theft incidents have occurred in line with the increasing trend of unmanned stores. According to data recently released by the S-1 Crime Prevention Research Institute, 52% of theft crimes in unmanned stores from 2019 to the first half of last year were committed by teenagers. [Photo by Asia Economy]
Considering that petty thefts under 10,000 won were at 12,991 cases in 2020, the number has nearly doubled in three years. Theft cases between 10,000 won and 100,000 won also increased by 41.2% during the same period. Given that the total number of theft cases only rose by 17.4%, petty thefts have surged sharply. This trend in theft incidents has been driven mainly by minors and the elderly. According to police statistics, the proportion of minors among all theft cases was 14.8% in 2021 but rose to 16.6% last year, while the proportion of those aged 61 and older increased from 29% to 30.8%.
With the rise of unmanned stores, many theft incidents involving minors have occurred. According to data recently released by the S-1 Crime Prevention Research Institute, 52% of theft crimes in unmanned stores from 2019 to the first half of last year were committed by teenagers. Some express concerns that these petty crimes could lead to more serious offenses. In fact, the Bucheon Sosa Police Station has been investigating three teenagers who stole about 3 million won in cash from eight unmanned ice cream stores in the Bucheon area between the 23rd and 30th of last month without detention. They reportedly used scissors to forcibly open kiosks and steal cash.
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
