"Got Hair, So Refund Me"... The Final Act of a YouTuber's Staged Incident

Court: "Crime method very malicious... Severe punishment necessary"
Fined 5 million won for fraud charge

A YouTuber who received a refund for food at a hamburger restaurant in Chuncheon, Gangwon Province, claiming "there was a hair in the food," was ultimately punished for fraud amid controversy over the incident being staged.

On the 31st, the Chuncheon District Court Criminal Division 2 (Presiding Judge Kim Taek-seong) announced that it sentenced Mr. A (27), who was indicted on fraud charges, to a fine of 5 million won.

Mr. A was prosecuted on charges of conspiring with his mother, Ms. B, on the evening of August 6 last year to demand a refund of 27,800 won by claiming there was a hair in the food they ordered at a hamburger restaurant, even though there was no hair in the food, thereby gaining financial benefit.

At the time, Ms. B showed a napkin with hair placed on it to the employee and demanded a refund, saying, "There was a hair in the food, so please refund it. Since we shared all the menu items, we should get a full refund. My daughter (Mr. A), who was eating with me, has a weak stomach and went to vomit. I feel very upset."

The investigative agency concluded that the mother and daughter staged the incident by placing hair found on a blanket hanging on the back of a chair onto a napkin to get a refund, and they were summarily indicted with a fine of 300,000 won.

The court accepted this and issued a summary order for a fine of 300,000 won. Ms. B accepted the order, but Mr. A requested a formal trial and claimed innocence.

The photo is unrelated to specific expressions in the article. [Image source=Pixabay]

The court found, based on actions captured on closed-circuit television (CCTV), that the mother and daughter committed the act with the intention of obtaining a refund.

The court recognized as evidence that Mr. A suddenly took hair from a blanket hanging on the backrest of the adjacent seat and placed it on a napkin; that Ms. B pulled the napkin to examine it; that Mr. A stood up from his seat and pointed to the napkin before leaving; that Mr. A returned to Ms. B, handed over the prepaid card, and then left; and that Ms. B called the employee to demand a refund. The CCTV footage showed that these actions took less than two minutes.

The court judged that the act of picking up hair found by chance while dining and placing it on the table was highly unusual and unnatural. Considering the CCTV footage, various circumstances, indirect facts, and the situation immediately after the actions, the court concluded that there was no reasonable reason or motive other than the purpose of obtaining a refund.

Mr. A’s side claimed that about five minutes before discovering the hair on the blanket, they had found another strand of hair in the food. However, the court found it difficult to understand this claim logically, noting that Mr. A did not call the employee to complain at that time and continued to eat the food.

In court, Mr. A argued, "I have lived without committing crimes, even if I have not been generous, so I am unfairly accused." However, the court imposed a fine of 5 million won and, unusually, ordered the defendant to bear the litigation costs as well.

The court explained the sentencing rationale, stating, "The method of the crime is very malicious, and regardless of the amount of money involved, such acts cause significant mental distress and damage to those working in the food service industry. Moreover, the defendant does not show remorse, so severe punishment is necessary."

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