The Choco Pie Incident
A Lawsuit Over 74 Cents
Who would’ve known that they would get sued for a snack worth 74 cents? Certainly not me. On January 18th, 2024, Worker A was sued for stealing a chocolate cream cake and a custard bread worth 1050 won (about 0.74 USD).
A photo of Chocolate cream cake (Choco Pie)
The Incident
Although worker A said he never meant to steal it and thought the snacks were open for anyone working, on January 26th, a company director B submitted a CCTV file as evidence of worker A stealing the snacks, demanding a punishment instead of compensation for what had been stolen. He claimed that the snacks were stored in the corner of the office, which is not open to random workers. Sued for theft of less than a dollar, worker A was given a summary order by the court of first instance to pay 50,000 won (35.21 USD).
Worker A refused to accept the fee that he had to pay and demanded an official trial, claiming that he did not understand suing people for taking something that the company offered, and that he did not steal it. The next trial will be on October 30th, 2025.
Public Reaction
It has been revealed that no workers got sued for taking snacks from the corner, except worker A, who turned out to be part of the workers' union. People say worker A has been mirroring Jean Valjean from Les Misérables. With two snacks worth less than a dollar, there have been lots of criticism and concerns from the courts and the company.
Starting as a small snack, this incident grew to be a debate about where the blame lies, with the company or the worker.