A woman in her 50s who attempted to return a lost wallet was fined for taking 2,000 won ($1.50) in cash that was inside it.
According to Yonhap News on the 8th, the woman, identified only as "A," works as a care worker and lives with her elderly mother. On the night of May 17 last year, she found a card wallet on the ground near a trash bin on the platform of Yeongdeungpo Market Station on Seoul Metro Line 5.
A took the wallet home and the next morning traveled to a mailbox near where she found it, reasoning that dropping it off nearby would make it easier for the owner to retrieve. The wallet contained cards and 2,000 won in cash. Having spent her own transportation money to return to the location, she decided to take the 2,000 won as reimbursement before depositing the wallet in the mailbox.
Two months later in July, subway police who had reviewed CCTV footage contacted A and asked her to come in regarding the wallet. The wallet she had placed in the mailbox had not been delivered to its owner but remained at a post office.
A immediately returned the 2,000 won through investigators. The wallet's owner also submitted a statement saying they did not wish to press charges. However, embezzlement of lost property is not classified as a crime requiring victim consent for prosecution, meaning the investigation had to proceed.
Police referred A to a Minor Crimes Review Committee, which requested summary judgment. The Seoul Southern District Court imposed a fine of 50,000 won ($36). While this does not constitute a criminal record in the conventional sense, disclosure of the case could restrict her from certain public sector employment.
A has expressed frustration that her good-faith effort to return the wallet has effectively been recorded as a crime. She filed information disclosure requests with police and submitted complaints through the government petition system, but received only standard responses stating that proper procedures were followed.
A claims that police investigation documents obtained through her disclosure request omitted details showing her intent to return the wallet and her reimbursement of the money. Police responded that no information was omitted, adding that referring the case to the Minor Crimes Review Committee rather than formally indicting her and sending the case to prosecutors was itself a lenient measure taken in consideration of her circumstances.