"Paid Properly, Yet Called a 'Thief'?": Parents of Elementary Student Sue Unmanned Store Owner Over Publicized Face

CCTV Photos of Child Posted in Store for a Week
"Child Deeply Hurt... Filed Complaint to Prevent Harm to Others"

An elementary school student who properly paid for ice cream at an unmanned store in Seo-gu, Incheon, was accused of being a "thief" and had his face made public. The child's parents have filed a defamation complaint against the store owner.

Photo of Mr. A attached to the unmanned store. Photo by Yonhap News

The Incheon Seobu Police Station announced on the 22nd that Ms. B, the mother of elementary school student A, who was accused of stealing ice cream, has filed a defamation complaint with the police against the unmanned store owner, Mr. C.

On September 11, after finishing his academy class, A purchased ice cream costing 800 won at a nearby unmanned store and transferred 800 won to the account listed at the store. He even included his name and the product name in the transfer memo.

However, when A visited the same store again on October 1, he discovered that two closed-circuit television (CCTV) capture photos showing his face had been posted on the wall. Below the photos was a message that read, "If you are this person or know this person, please contact us," along with Mr. C's mobile phone number.

The photos remained posted in the store for about a week. After hearing about this from her son, Ms. B visited the store to protest. Mr. C explained, "I received a report from another student that someone was taking items without paying, so I checked the CCTV but did not see the payment scene." He added, "The day after I was contacted by A's parents, I checked the account records and removed the photos."

He apologized, saying, "As an adult, I regret and am sorry that I did not handle the situation more carefully."

Ms. B stated, "My son suffered emotional distress due to the store owner's careless actions. I filed a police complaint because if I just let it go, other children might suffer the same harm."

The police have recently completed questioning the complainant and plan to summon Mr. C soon to investigate the circumstances surrounding the posting of the photos.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.