"These Kids Stole Snacks" Unmanned Store Owner Posts Elementary Students' Personal Information

Gwangju Unmanned Store Owner Publishes Elementary Student's Personal Information
Warning Notice Posted Due to Lack of Parental Consent
"Excessive" vs "Understandable" Residents Debate Heatedly

A conflict of opinions among residents continues over how to respond after the owner of an unmanned store publicly revealed photos and personal information of elementary school students who stole snacks.

On the 9th, a warning notice printed with the personal information of three lower-grade elementary school students who took snacks and ice cream from this unmanned store near an elementary school in Seo-gu, Gwangju Metropolitan City on the 22nd of last month was posted on the store’s entrance door.

According to the personal information, the children’s faces are mosaic-edited in the photos, and the name of the school they attend and their grade levels are included. In particular, the editing is done to the extent that classmates or neighbors can easily recognize them.

An unmanned store owner posted photos and personal information of elementary school students who stole snacks on the store door.
[Photo by Yonhap News]

As a result, rumors about the theft committed by these children spread to the nearby elementary school and apartment complex. The unmanned store owner, Mr. A, who posted the warning notice, is reported to have suffered theft damages worth between 15,000 and 20,000 won from each child on the day of the incident.

The children were caught by Mr. A inside the store while stealing snacks and ice cream again that same afternoon. Afterwards, when no compensation agreement was reached with the children’s parents, Mr. A reportedly posted the warning notice.

The warning notice included phrases such as “50 times compensation if theft is detected” and “24-hour recording.” The 50 times compensation proposed by Mr. A is a level of settlement commonly reached in similar civil disputes.

Meanwhile, opinions among residents are divided over this approach, with some criticizing it as “stigmatizing young children as criminals” and others defending it by saying, “They must have chosen this method out of desperation.”

One resident pointed out, “It seems like the store owner’s response went too far by stigmatizing growing children as thieves to the entire neighborhood through ‘doxxing.’” On the other hand, another resident retorted, “If the children’s parents had offered sufficient apologies and compensation, would this matter have escalated this far?”

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