"Unemployed and Evicted from Home"... 20s Sentenced to Prison for Stealing Luxury Bags and Discarding Everything Except Cash

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Daehyun] A man in his 20s who lost his job and was evicted from his home, becoming homeless, was sentenced to prison for theft. The defendant's court-appointed lawyer pleaded for leniency, stating, "He was kicked out by his father and ran out of money, which led to the crime," but due to his accumulated theft record, he could not avoid a prison sentence.

According to the legal community on the 24th, Judge Yoo Donggyun of the Seoul Central District Court Criminal Division 13 recently sentenced A (28) to one year in prison on theft charges.

A was prosecuted for stealing luxury bags and wallets worth hundreds of thousands of won while roaming PC rooms in Gwanak-gu, Seoul, around 1 a.m. on April 8. Three days later, around 10 p.m., he was caught in the act by police while stealing a luxury wallet at an arcade in Gwanak-gu, and less than two hours after being released around midnight, he was also charged with stealing 140,000 won in cash from a PC room cashier.

At the time, A had completed an eight-month prison sentence for previous theft charges and was released in January last year. He committed these crimes during his recidivism period (three years after the completion or exemption of sentence execution).

During the trial, when asked by the court what happened to the stolen items such as bags, he stated, "I threw away everything except the cash." The CCTV footage showed A calmly taking valuables beside a distracted victim, removing cash, and then discarding bags in an alley.

A’s side admitted all charges in court but pleaded for leniency. The lawyer emphasized, "The factory where the defendant worked closed down this year, leaving him unemployed, and he was kicked out by his father. He experienced hardship living homeless but had no way to earn money, which led to the crime." He added, "He is still unable to contact his father, making it difficult to reach settlements with the victims."

A also said, "I will work hard and live honestly so that this does not happen again. I am truly sorry to the victims." On the other hand, the prosecution requested the court to sentence him to two years and six months in prison, considering his five prior convictions for similar crimes.

The court stated, "The defendant has confessed to all the crimes and acknowledged his wrongdoing," but pointed out, "He has multiple prior convictions for similar offenses and committed the crimes during the recidivism period." Furthermore, "He repeatedly committed similar crimes in a short period, and the victims have not been properly compensated." The court added, "Considering the defendant’s age, character, and other sentencing factors, the sentence was determined."

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