"After SK hynix Stock Windfall, Teen Steals 70 Million Won in Gold From Jewelry Store While Pretending to Buy Parents a Gift"

Broke Display Case with Hammer and Stole Jewelry
Apprehended Within an Hour of the Crime

A teenage boy pretended to be a customer at a jewelry store, chose a gift, broke a display case, and fled with gold bracelets worth tens of millions of won. Photo by MBC

A teenage boy, referred to as "A," who pretended to select an item as a gift at a jewelry store because he wanted to buy a present for his parents who had bought SK hynix stock for him, stole gold bracelets and fled, but was apprehended by the police.

According to MBC on April 28, A is accused of pretending to browse jewelry at a jewelry store in Gwangju, Gyeonggi Province at around 3:30 p.m. on April 27, then breaking a display case with an emergency bus hammer and fleeing with several gold bracelets.

Before committing the crime, A showed the store owner a shopping bag containing 600 50,000-won bills, totaling 30 million won, and said, "My father gave me SK hynix stock as a gift, and it turned out to be a huge success, so I withdrew some money because I wanted to buy a gift for my father and mother." However, that money was also counterfeit bills.

A teenage boy pretended to be a customer at a jewelry store, broke a display case, stole gold bracelets worth tens of millions of won, and ran away. Photo by MBC News footage capture

After receiving the report, the police responded and arrested A about one hour after the incident took place, near the banks of the Gonjiam Stream, about 6 kilometers from the jewelry store. Although A, upon arrest, claimed to have dropped the stolen gold bracelets in the stream, the police were unable to locate them.

The owner of the jewelry store reportedly claimed damages amounting to between 50 million and 70 million won. The police are tracking the whereabouts of the missing gold bracelets, and are also investigating whether there were accomplices, including a man whom A called using the store owner’s phone before the crime. The police have decided to seek an arrest warrant for A.

According to Article 329 of the Criminal Act, a person who steals another's property is subject to imprisonment for up to six years or a fine of up to 10 million won. If the crime is habitual, the sentence may be increased by up to half of the original penalty. Notably, theft is not a crime that can be settled by agreement, meaning that criminal punishment can be imposed even if the victim does not wish to pursue charges.

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