"Employee Was Unfriendly"...Employee Filed False Complaints to Close Store

Guilty of Obstruction of Business... 8 Months Imprisonment with 2 Years Probation

An employee who harbored resentment after a dispute with a store owner and filed false complaints, causing the store to close, was sentenced to a suspended prison term for obstruction of business.

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The Incheon District Court sentenced Mr. A, who was indicted on charges of obstruction of business last October, to 8 months in prison with a 2-year suspension in the first trial.

The court stated, "The crime caused the store to receive a notice of contract non-renewal, resulting in the inability to operate the store, which reflects the serious nature of the offense," and added, "Since the offender has not been forgiven by the victim, strict punishment is necessary." However, the court explained the sentencing reasoning by considering "the defendant admitted to the crime in court, reflected on his wrongdoing, pledged not to reoffend, and is a first-time offender with no prior criminal record."

Previously, Mr. A worked as an employee at a D bag brand store located in a department store in Incheon. In July 2023, he was criticized by the store owner for his work attitude. After a dispute, Mr. A resigned. Having worked at this department store for about a year, including this store, he was well aware of the regulations for stores within the department store. For this bag brand, if three or more customer complaints were received through the department store's VOC (Voice of Customer) system, the store could face significant disadvantages in contract renewal with the headquarters. Mr. A also knew that one VOC complaint had been filed against the store around July 2023 while he was working there.

Exploiting this, on the day of his resignation, Mr. A posted a message on the department store’s website under his boyfriend’s name stating, "The staff is unfriendly." He wrote, "I entered the store with my girlfriend, but the employee was just eating ice cream without attending to us and only stared. When we asked to take out items, they seemed bothered," and "Other stores on the same floor were friendly and good, but this particular store was unfriendly, so we plan never to use it again."

Additionally, in early August, under his boyfriend’s name, he posted complaints such as "The handbag store employee’s hair color is bright and basic training is needed," "The work attitude is poor; the manager is nowhere to be seen, and only childish employees are present," and "I am self-employed, but is this how employee management is handled in a department store, not even an outlet?"

However, all these were fabricated by Mr. A. He had never visited the store as a customer, but the D brand headquarters, following regulations, refused to renew the contract with the store, which led to its closure.

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