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Court overturns suspended indictment against student accused of theft for not paying for $1 snack

Published: 05 Jan. 2026, 17:40

People are seen shopping at an unmanned convenience store in Seoul on July 25, 2019, in this photo unrelated to the story. [JOONGANG ILBO]

The Constitutional Court overturned a suspended indictment against a student accused of theft for failing to pay for a 1,500 won ($1) snack at an unmanned store — a mistake that prosecutors deemed criminal.

The court unanimously ruled in favor of a constitutional petition filed by the student surnamed Kim, finding that the suspended indictment issued by the Ansan branch of the Suwon District Prosecutors' Office violated Kim's right to equality and pursuit of happiness, according to legal sources on Monday.

“The prosecutor issued a suspended indictment against the petitioner on the assumption that they had committed theft, despite there being insufficient grounds to conclude that they acted with intent to steal,” the court said. “There was a significant investigative oversight or error in the assessment of evidence, which influenced the decision.”

Kim, who had graduated high school and was attending a university prep academy, was accused of leaving an unmanned store without paying for a 1,500 won snack at 10:32 p.m. on July 24 last year.

That day, Kim brought four ice-cream bars and one snack to the unmanned checkout but only paid for the ice cream and a 50 won plastic bag, which totaled 3,050 won.

Kim also removed one ice-cream bar, priced at 800 won, from the freezer but did not place it back before exiting the store.

A student takes a mock exam for university entrace at a private cram school in Yangcheon District, western Seoul on June 4, 2025, in this photo unrelated to the story. [NEWS1]

The store owner reported Kim to the police, saying one snack had been stolen and one ice-cream bar had melted, resulting in a financial loss for the owner. Kim later paid the store owner 100,000 won in a settlement, and the store submitted a written request for leniency.

Kim told police that he had unintentionally failed to pay for the snack because he was listening to music through his earphones at the time. Kim had no prior criminal record or history of prosecution.

Nonetheless, prosecutors issued a suspended indictment, acknowledging criminal suspicion but deciding not to proceed to trial. They cited 2,300 won, the combined price of the unpaid snack and melted ice-cream bar, in total and concluded that a crime had been committed.

However, the Constitutional Court, after reviewing the store's CCTV footage, reached a different conclusion. The footage showed Kim — without a mask and wearing earphones — shopping and using a debit card under their own name to pay for the four ice-cream bars. Kim also added a 50 won plastic bag to his order.

Presiding justices of the Constitutional Court take their seats during a court session on Dec. 1, 2025. [NEWS1]

“There is no evidence or reason to believe that Kim deliberately chose not to pay for the snack while paying for all other items,” the court said.

“The footage shows that Kim left the ice cream on top of the freezer,” the court said regarding the melted ice cream. For the snack, the court continued, “There is no evidence to conclude that Kim took possession of the item with the intent to steal. Therefore, this cannot be considered theft.”

The prosecution argued that the decision was justified, citing Kim’s repeated use of their mobile phone. It claimed that Kim could have checked the text message that automatically sends after a payment is made and realized the snack was not paid for, thus demonstrating intent.

The court rejected that reasoning. “It is entirely possible that Kim was simply changing songs or using the phone for another purpose,” the court said. “The use of a phone alone is not sufficient proof to conclude [Kim's] intent to steal.”

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY CHO MUN-GYU [[email protected]]