"Mental Level of a 4-Year-Old" and "Law Breken Over This?"... Absurd Reason 2,500-Won Snack Led to "Theft Charge"

"The act of a person who, due to a mental disability, lacks the ability to discern things or make decisions shall not be punished." This is Article 10 of the Criminal Act of South Korea, which limits the punishment of those lacking decision-making capacity. However, an absurd incident occurred in which a developmentally disabled person lacking such capacity was put on trial as a thief after eating a snack without paying for it.

1. 1 Year and 6 Months of "Hell" Over a 2,500-Won Snack
This is CCTV footage from an unmanned store in Yangcheon-gu, Seoul, from mid-March of last year. A man wearing a hat is seen fiddling with snacks before opening the package and putting it in his mouth. This is the moment Kim Young-sik, a 38-year-old with severe developmental disabilities, was branded a thief. He had gone out for a walk with his activity assistant, and while the assistant looked away for a moment, he entered the unmanned store and ate a snack.

[Kim Duk-jun / Father of Kim Young-sik: "They said his IQ is 31. He cannot live a social life on his own and always needs an activity assistant to watch over him. That is his condition, and he cannot speak or understand words..."]

The items Kim ate without paying over three occasions were two chocolate bars and one Choco Pie, totaling 2,500 won. At the time, warning signs inside the store read, "In principle, we do not settle in cases of theft," and "If a settlement is absolutely necessary, it costs at least 500,000 won."

[Kim Duk-jun / Father of Kim Young-sik: "We never thought of it as going somewhere and stealing to eat. (The store owner) said, 'Then I will not settle.'"]

Even after confirming that Kim was a person with severe developmental disabilities with a significantly low intellectual level, the police forwarded the case on theft charges because the two sides failed to reach a settlement. The prosecution also summary-indicted him with a 100,000-won fine instead of suspension of indictment. Once the decision with a conviction intent was handed down, Kim's family requested a formal trial.

[Kim Duk-jun / Father of Kim Young-sik: "How can you punish these people? (Disabled people) are a matter of accommodation, not punishment. So we appealed (the summary order)..."]

On September 9 of last month, the first-instance court's ruling delivered after one year and six months was not guilty. The court judged that the crime was not established because Kim, whose intellectual level is that of a 4- to 5-year-old infant, lacked the capacity to make the decision that he had to pay for the items. The court also noted that Kim did not steal the snacks and run away, but rather opened the package on the spot and ate them immediately, which cannot be regarded as a typical method of theft. Furthermore, he could not understand the questions during police questioning and the judge's interrogation, prompting Kim's father to answer on his behalf, the court pointed out.

2. Why Did the Prosecution Summary-Indict with Intent to Convict?
Then why did the prosecution summary-indict Kim with the intent to convict? The prosecution explained that, in addition to the defendant's intellectual capacity, they comprehensively considered factors such as the victim's intent for punishment and whether damage was recovered. Simply put, no settlement was reached for the 2,500-won damage, and the victimized store owner wanted punishment rather than leniency. However, a lawyer who has handled and processed developmental disability theft cases told SBS that "even with multiple petty thefts, most cases result in a suspension of indictment," adding that "it is unprecedented for a first-time offender to go all the way to a trial." Right after the first-instance ruling was handed down, the prosecution gave up its right to appeal, finalizing the acquittal. At the same time, they only gave a principled stance to SBS that they would ensure thorough handling of disability-related cases.

3. Ongoing Controversy Over Theft by Developmentally Disabled Individuals: Is There a Solution?
In June of this year in Busan, two individuals in their 30s with severe developmental disabilities ate 1,500-won ice cream without paying and were sent to the prosecution on special larceny charges, continuing the controversy over theft cases involving developmentally disabled individuals. Although there is a system where police officers dedicated to disabled individuals take charge of cases and people in relationships of trust, such as family members, sit in during investigative agency questioning, critics point out that this alone is not enough. Experts criticized that the behavior of investigative agencies, which completely fails to consider the behavioral characteristics of developmentally disabled individuals, must change.

[Kim Min-young / Head of Gyeonggi Center for Persons with Developmental Disabilities: "Unmanned stores are the most vulnerable places for people with developmental disabilities. Incidents like the current one involving eating without paying happen from time to time. Naturally, the store owner had far too little understanding of this person with developmental disabilities. In minor cases like this, a suspension of indictment conditional on education is usually issued. For these individuals, seeking a sentencing guideline itself holds little meaning. The biggest goal is to prevent reoffending anyway. Through systems like separate, individual education so that they can recognize their actions..."]

In May of this year, the National Human Rights Commission of Korea also recommended reviewing the current dedicated investigator system for persons with developmental disabilities, devising measures to enhance expertise, and making them public on a regular basis. In response, the National Police Agency even established a special rule concerning the investigation of persons with developmental disabilities, but disabled groups are criticizing it as a superficial change that lacks specific regulations. Although Kim was cleared of the stigma of stealing 2,500 won worth of snacks after a year and six months, our society's lingering concerns regarding the investigation of developmentally disabled individuals remain unresolved.

(Reported by Kwon Min-kyu | Produced by Shin Hee-sik | Video Reporting by Cho Chang-hyun | Video Editing by Hong Jin-young | Design by Yang Hye-min | Produced by SBS Digital News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.