Prosecution Indicts Executive Without Detention for Deleting Business Data Over Unpaid Wages Before Resignation

Police Refuse Forensic Analysis, Close Case

Case Transferred to Prosecution After Complainant’s Appeal

Prosecution Uncovers Suspect’s Lies Through Forensic Consultation

An executive who, dissatisfied with unpaid wages, deleted all company computer files without authorization before resigning has been brought to trial following supplementary investigation by the prosecution. Initially, the police had closed the case with a finding of no charges, refusing a forensic request; however, the prosecution analyzed the evidence and uncovered the crime.

Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office, Seocho-gu, Seoul. Photo by Kang Jinhyung

On May 19, the Criminal Division 3 of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office (headed by Chief Prosecutor Kim Hokyung) announced that on May 14, it indicted executive A without detention on charges of destruction of electronic records and obstruction of business.

In November 2024, A is alleged to have harbored resentment toward the company over unpaid wages, and before resigning, deleted all business-related data stored on the company computer he used, thereby disrupting the company’s work.

The case nearly went unnoticed during the initial police investigation. The company representative, who was the complainant, repeatedly requested the police to conduct a forensic analysis on the computer used by A to check whether files had been deleted. However, the officer in charge responded, “Digital forensics are not conducted for cases like this,” and decided not to transfer the case without properly verifying the file deletions.

However, when the complainant appealed the police’s decision, the case was transferred to the prosecution. The prosecutors, upon receiving the case, obtained the forensic results of the computer used by A through the complainant and conducted a detailed supplementary investigation, including technical consultations with their own forensic team.

A claimed that the computer had been formatted automatically, but the prosecution’s investigation revealed that he had intentionally and deliberately deleted the company’s business data.

A prosecution official stated, “We will continue to address shortcomings in police investigations through thorough supplementary investigation and do our utmost to ensure that victims of crime do not experience injustice.”

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