Kimchi Delivery Misrouted Before Departure... Stored in Refrigerator, Leading to Criminal Trial [Seocho-dong Legal Story]

"Afraid It Will Spoil If Left Too Long"... The Story That Led to a Court Case

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Daehyun] On the evening of July 1 last year, Ms. A (49, female), who lives in an officetel in Gangnam-gu, Seoul, found a delivery box placed in front of her house. It contained 600g of kimchi and six face mask packs. The delivery was addressed to Ms. B (24, female), who had previously lived in that house. The mistake was due to B’s mother confusing the address.

Ms. B was aware that the delivery would be sent to Ms. A’s house. Earlier that morning, the delivery driver sent a text message saying, "There is a request to deliver an icebox package to Ms. A’s home address. If you provide the current address, it will arrive the next day," and Ms. B replied, "If you leave it in front of Ms. A’s house, I will come to pick it up." The delivery driver sent a "delivery completed" message around 11:55 a.m.

Unaware of this, Ms. A was in a difficult situation. She was scheduled to leave the country the next day. The recipient’s name and phone number on the delivery slip were partially obscured with asterisks (*), making it impossible to contact Ms. B. Ms. A divided the kimchi into containers and stored them in the refrigerator.

Victim Visited but Only Partial Return of Items

Ms. B arrived at Ms. A’s house after 7 p.m. and rang the doorbell to inquire about the delivery. Ms. A said, "I put it in the refrigerator to prevent spoilage," and gave her one container of kimchi.

After returning home and speaking with her mother, Ms. B realized that some of the kimchi and face mask packs were missing. Ms. B went back to protest, and while Ms. A returned the face mask packs, she did not return all of the kimchi.

Following Ms. B’s report, Ms. A became subject to an investigation. Ms. A explained to the authorities that "I forgot to give the face mask packs because I was busy with personal work. Some of the kimchi was in someone else’s containers, so I couldn’t return it immediately." She also stated, "I did not expect the delivery owner to come that day, so I opened the packaging and put the food in the refrigerator to prevent spoilage before leaving the country. I will come to receive the statement after completing self-quarantine and the second vaccine dose upon returning to Korea."

Court: "Although Suspicious, Ms. A’s Claim Is Not Implausible... Not Guilty"

However, the prosecution indicted Ms. A on charges of embezzlement of lost property, judging that she intended to keep the delivery for herself without returning it. They cited that Ms. A opened the package despite knowing the delivery was misdelivered, did not contact the delivery driver, and only returned part of the contents to Ms. B who came to her home.

Presiding Judge Shin Hyukjae of the Seoul Central District Court Criminal Division 4 acquitted Ms. A. Judge Shin stated, "There is suspicion that Ms. A opened and took the delivery with the intention of keeping it," but "It cannot be concluded that Ms. A’s claim lacks plausibility or rationality."

Judge Shin added, "It was difficult to contact Ms. B before she came in person, and the delivery driver did not provide any contact regarding the delivery." Ms. A had already booked a flight to leave the country the next day, and she was in a situation where she had to dispose of the food in her refrigerator to prevent spoilage during her long absence," he explained. He further stated, "The facts of this case fall under a situation where the prosecution has not proven the criminal facts."

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