"Recently, some customers have been pretending to scan barcodes without actually paying, and just walking out with the items," said A, who runs an unmanned store in Gwangjin-gu, Seoul. "It's hard to prove intent, and I've been told I may have to file a civil suit. But it doesn't make sense to sue over a few thousand won." He added, "Business is already tough these days. Rather than stressing over thefts that are too ambiguous to even report, I think it would be better to just shut down."
Petty theft cases involving amounts under 100,000 won surged roughly 40% last year compared to five years ago. As self-employed business owners struggle under the so-called "triple high" phenomenon of high prices, high interest rates, and a strong dollar, small-scale crimes targeting small merchants are showing no signs of slowing, prompting calls for countermeasures.
According to data submitted by the National Police Agency to Rep. Chae Hyun-il of the Democratic Party of Korea and obtained by the Seoul Economic Daily on Thursday, there were a preliminary 74,244 petty theft cases involving amounts under 100,000 won last year. That marks an increase of about 40% from 53,060 cases in 2020. Ultra-small thefts involving just a few thousand won are also on the rise. Theft cases under 10,000 won numbered 23,403 last year, nearly double the 12,991 cases recorded in 2020.
Petty theft is undeniably a crime, but when losses amount to only 10,000 to 20,000 won, the time and cost burden of reporting to police and going through investigations often outweigh the loss. As a result, many small business owners give up on reporting, suggesting the actual scale of petty theft may be larger than official statistics show.
Dine-and-dash incidents are also on the rise. According to the National Police Agency, reports of dine-and-dash and fare evasion reached 136,835 last year, a record high. Such reports have steadily increased from 105,547 in 2020 to 120,818 in 2023 and 129,984 in 2024.
Experts point to the prolonged economic downturn and the spread of unmanned stores as key factors driving the rise in small-scale crimes. Persistent high prices have increased the number of vulnerable people unable to afford a single meal, while unmanned stores have rapidly expanded as owners try to cut labor costs, exposing more self-employed business owners to petty theft. Some also note that relatively light penalties for dine-and-dash offenses limit efforts to prevent repeat offenses.
"Not only subsistence crimes but also the nationwide increase in unmanned stores is significantly contributing to the rise in petty theft," said Lee Yoon-ho, a professor of police administration at Dongguk University. "Since police administrative capacity has its limits, it is necessary to build an efficient response system while self-employed owners of unmanned stores also need to strengthen their security systems."
Rep. Chae also said, "Even if the theft amounts are small, the damage felt by small business owners is significant. We need to build a tight social safety net to minimize subsistence crimes and the damage they cause."
