Three Graduates Who Trespassed Middle School for School Meals Receive Prison Sentences on Appeal

Defendants Claim "We Entered to Meet a Teacher"
Court States "Middle Schools Are Off-Limits to Outsiders"

Three individuals, including a graduate in their 20s, who unlawfully entered a middle school to secretly eat school meals, have been sentenced to prison terms on appeal as well.

According to Yonhap News on June 22, the Criminal Division 1 of the Suwon High Court (Presiding Judge Shin Hyunil) dismissed the defendants' appeal and upheld the original verdict in the appellate trial of A (20) and B (17), who were charged with joint trespassing. In the initial trial, A was sentenced to six months in prison, suspended for two years, along with 300 hours of community service, while B was sentenced to four months in prison, suspended for two years, and 200 hours of community service.

A and others were brought to trial on charges of breaking in through the back gate of a middle school cafeteria in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province, at around 12:45 p.m. in May 2023 to secretly eat lunch. During the trial, A and B, along with C (22), who is also a graduate of the school, claimed that they had entered the school with the permission of the school guard to meet a teacher. However, the court did not accept this argument.

The first trial court stated, "Generally, middle schools do not allow outsiders to enter, and outsiders are managed and supervised in such a way that they can only enter after receiving and wearing an entry pass from the administrative office. The defendants entered the school building and went directly to the cafeteria instead of the administrative office, immediately received meals, and continued eating until a teacher said, 'If you do not leave, I will report you.'" The court further noted, "Although C is a graduate of this school, he was 20 years old at the time of the incident and had graduated a considerable time before. There was also no prior contact with the teacher he claimed to want to meet. It appears that the entry in this case was carried out in order to secretly eat lunch."

They appealed, arguing that they had no intention of trespassing. However, the appellate court's judgment was no different. The appellate court explained the reason for dismissing the appeal by stating, "The original judgment is reasonable and there is no illegality such as a misunderstanding of facts or misapplication of the law."

C, who was indicted as an accomplice with A and others, was also tried for charges including joint trespassing, forcible molestation, and theft. In the first trial, C was sentenced to two years in prison and ordered to complete 40 hours of a sexual violence treatment program. After being tried separately from A and others on appeal, C received a final conviction for a separate criminal case at the end of last year. As a result, under the rules for sentencing in cases of multiple offenses, C's sentence was reduced to one year in prison and 40 hours of a sexual violence treatment program in the second trial in February.