A man in his 70s who was put on trial for taking flowerpots left outside a restaurant has had his not-guilty verdict overturned in an appeal, receiving a guilty ruling instead.

Today, the Seoul Southern District Court overturned the lower court's acquittal of 73-year-old Kim, sentencing him to a 700,000 won fine with a one-year suspended sentence on charges of theft.

Kim was accused of taking three flowerpots worth 450,000 won without the owner's permission from outside a snack bar in Geumcheon-gu, Seoul, between late October and early November of the year before last.

In the first trial, the defendant's claim was accepted—that because the restaurant had been closed for about two weeks, he assumed it had gone out of business, and believing the plants had withered, thought they were discarded—resulting in an acquittal.

However, the appellate court reached a different conclusion.

The court pointed out, "Even though there were no piles of garbage or 'for rent' signs around, taking the flowerpots without making even a minimal effort to verify whether they were actually discarded cannot be considered a justifiable reason for the misunderstanding."

Nevertheless, the court explained the reasoning behind its sentencing, stating, "We took into consideration the fact that the stolen flowerpots were safely returned to the victim and that the victim does not wish for further punishment, leading to the suspension of the fine."

(Photo: Yonhap News)