Got a 100,000 Won Perm, Then "Mom Had an Accident"... The Man Who Took Off Without Returning

"Will Come Back," But Provided False Contact Information
High Recidivism Due to Perception of 'Meoktwi' as a Minor Crime

A story has emerged about a man who left a hair salon without paying after getting a perm. On the 8th, JTBC Incident Squad reported on an experience of Mr. A, who runs a hair salon near Jeonbuk National University in Jeonju, Jeonbuk Province. Mr. A received a male customer on the evening of the 6th. The man said he wanted a perm costing about 100,000 won, but Mr. A gave him a discount because he remembered the man had visited several times before.

A story has emerged about a man who left a hair salon without paying after getting a perm. On the 8th, JTBC Incident Squad reported on an incident recently experienced by Mr. A, who runs a hair salon near Jeonbuk National University in Jeonju, Jeonbuk Province. JTBC Incident Squad

During the perm procedure, the man mainly talked about his mother. He said he gave his mother a card but hadn’t heard from her, and that his mother needed to come to make the payment. Even after finishing his hair, he told Mr. A that his mother was the building owner and his father was a teacher. The man stayed in the store until closing time without paying, then suddenly said, "My mom had an accident," packed his things, and left the scene. Later, Mr. A tried to contact the number the man had registered during previous visits, but it turned out to be a 'nonexistent number.'

Mr. A said, "He is a customer who had visited four times before," and added, "He paid before, so I trusted him. I thought maybe something came up and he couldn’t come, but considering everything, I think he lied." He continued, "There are many ways to pay, but he used his mother and card as an excuse and left. It feels like a betrayal of the trust I had, so I’m angry," and said, "I hope this kind of thing never happens again." It is known that Mr. A has reported the incident to the police.

Meanwhile, as 'eating and running' crimes like this have increased recently, the number of fingerprint analyses conducted by the police to catch offenders has also risen every year. According to statistics announced by the Chungbuk Police Agency around October, the total number of fingerprint analyses conducted in the province over the past three years from 2021 to last year was 12,389, of which 1,059 were related to dine-and-dash cases. By year, there were 189 cases in 2021, 400 in 2022, and 470 last year, showing an increasing trend.

Most dine-and-dash offenders receive an administrative disposition that exempts them from punishment if they pay a fine within a certain period. However, if they fail to comply, they are referred to summary judgment. In such cases, penalties are limited to fines of up to 100,000 won, detention, or fines. Only when the number of offenses is high or the amount is large are they punished for fraud. Although the police respond to these crimes with a zero-tolerance policy, the punishments are light, leading to criticism that there is a large gap between law enforcement and judicial sentencing. Among these, it is reported that the recidivism rate is very high because eating-and-running crimes are not perceived as violent or serious crimes.