Court case over theft of $1 snack finally ends after 2 years

South Korean prosecutors have officially closed a viral case surrounding a Choco Pie theft after a security guard was accused of eating office snacks worth one US dollar.

Back on January 18, 2024, an office security guard in his 40s took a Choco Pie and a custard bun from a fridge while on a night patrol at a logistics office. However, instead of handling the dispute internally, the company reported the matter to the police, and prosecutors charged him with theft.

According to the Chosun Daily, the guard consistently denied wrongdoing during the trial, telling the court that delivery drivers had repeatedly said “it was okay to eat the snacks” and insisting he “had no intention of stealing.”

After nearly two years of legal battles, the court has now acquitted the security guard, ruling that there was no proof he intended to commit a crime and criticising gaps in the initial investigation.

Viral Choco Pie theft case comes to a close

On November 27, judges noted that the workplace had no clear system for distinguishing personal items from communal ones and that delivery drivers routinely ate pre-prepared snacks during overnight shifts, which led to the guard’s belief that the food was shared.

The case became a national talking point in South Korea, spreading across social sites as the “1,050-won case”, with many netizens questioning why a disagreement over snacks worth less than a dollar escalated into police action and two trials.

Orion

According to a report from The Korea Bizwire, the security guard’s lawyer thanked the public for helping bring light to the case:

“This outcome was possible thanks to the attention and concern from the public and the press. The defendant was deeply ashamed to have faced trial over eating a snack because he was hungry at dawn.”

With prosecutors now confirming they won’t take the matter to the Supreme Court, one of South Korea’s most unlikely legal dramas has finally come to a close.