'100 Million' Cash Bundle Found in Used Refrigerator... Owner Located but 'Deceased'

Cash will be returned to the bereaved family... Partial compensation also planned for the informant

Cash of 110 million won found in a used refrigerator.
Photo by Jeju Western Police Station

[Asia Economy Reporter Na Ye-eun] A bundle of cash worth about 100 million won was found in a secondhand kimchi refrigerator purchased online, and the police have identified the owner of the money after about a month of investigation.

Earlier, on the afternoon of the 6th of last month at around 3:45 PM, Jeju resident Mr. A reported to the police that "a bundle of 50,000-won bills amounting to 110 million won was attached to the bottom outside of the kimchi refrigerator purchased online."

It is known that Mr. A bought the kimchi refrigerator from a secondhand goods company in Jongno-gu, Seoul through an online transaction. On the morning of the report, Mr. A received the kimchi refrigerator from a delivery company and discovered the bundle of cash while cleaning it.

The refrigerator was wrapped in a vinyl cushioning material, and the cash bundle consisted of 2,200 bills of 50,000 won notes, bundled in groups of 100 or 200 bills, wrapped in vinyl, and attached to the bottom outside of the refrigerator.

The exterior bottom of a used refrigerator with cash attached.
Photo by Jeju Western Police Station

The Jeju Western Police Station announced on the 28th that through investigations including tracing the distribution route of the secondhand refrigerator, handwriting, fingerprints, and CCTV analysis, they confirmed that "the owner of the 110 million won in cash is a woman in her 60s, Ms. B, who lived in Seoul."

However, it was found that Ms. B passed away last September due to an illness. Therefore, the cash will be returned to Ms. B’s three children, who are the heirs.

Additionally, under the Lost Property Act, a reward of up to about 20 million won will be paid to the reporter, Mr. A. According to the Lost Property Act, the finder, Mr. A, can receive 5 to 20% of the value of the lost property as a reward from the owner.

Police investigations revealed that the refrigerator with the cash attached was disposed of by the bereaved family through a waste disposal company after Ms. B’s death, and the photos taken by the family for an estimate matched the model of the refrigerator in question.

The bereaved family was completely unaware that their mother had been storing the money.

Handwriting analysis results of Mr. B. / Photo by Jeju Western Police Station

Meanwhile, the police found a note written by Ms. B in an envelope that was with the bundle of cash.

Based on the names of the pharmacy and hospital written on the note left by Ms. B, the police narrowed down the people who had used those places, obtained additional handwriting samples, and requested an analysis from the National Forensic Service, which responded that "there is a high possibility that the handwriting is identical."

Ultimately, based on the facts that ▲ the refrigerator was the same model that Ms. B used during her lifetime and ▲ the handwriting on the note was highly likely to be identical to Ms. B’s handwriting according to the analysis, the owner of the money was identified as Ms. B.

The police stated, "The reported cash will be handed over to the bereaved family following the lost property handling procedures."

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