Deals & Cases

Theft and Destruction of Property

Theft and Destruction of PropertyNon-Referral

Theft Attorney | Obtaining a Non-Referral Decision for a Theft Charge Against a Client Under 14

2025.03.26박동일

A theft attorney is an attorney who handles criminal cases such as theft. The attorney faithfully assisted a third-year middle school student in an unmanned-store theft case and obtained a final decision of no suspicion of crime.

1. Theft Attorney | Background of the Case

The client was the parent of a third-year middle school student.

The client's child was charged with stealing a doll from an unmanned stationery store that the child had visited together with a friend.

The background of the case is as follows.

Charged With Stealing Goods From an Unmanned Store

After school, the client's child visited an unmanned store selling stationery together with a friend in order to buy a birthday gift for the friend.

While looking around the display, the friend found a doll whose packaging had been removed.

The client's child handled the doll together with the friend while considering whether to pay for it.

In the end, they put the doll with the removed packaging back in its place and selected and paid for new items.

A few days later, however, a classmate informed them that the client's child's face had been posted at the unmanned store, and the incident became known.

The Victim's Criminal Complaint

The victim filed a criminal complaint against the client's child for theft and destruction of property.

The victim took issue with the destruction of property after the child touched the doll whose packaging had been removed, and with the failure to pay for the new items.

The Wronged Client's Position

The client argued that there was no intent to commit theft because the child was unaware of having failed to pay.

The victim, however, ignored the client's contact and threatened to press ahead with the criminal complaint.

The theft attorney of Daeryun Law Firm thoroughly analyzed the case and provided legal assistance to resolve the unfairness faced by the client's child.

2. Theft Attorney | Analysis of the Case

The theft attorney closely analyzed the issues in the case.

Citing the legal principles of theft and destruction of property, the attorney also confirmed that the client's conduct did not meet the elements of either offense.

Issue Analysis

① The Situation at the Time of the Incident

A review of the store's CCTV at the time of the incident showed that the client handled the doll with the torn packaging a few times and then put it back in its place.

The victim viewed this as destruction of property.

When the theft attorney examined the item, there appeared to be no change in the doll's condition or usefulness from being handled a few times.

② The Reason for the Missing Payment

The client's child had brought two ballpoint pens and the doll in question to the kiosk to purchase them.

A review of the CCTV and recorded audio confirmed that the child was continuously talking with the friend and was distracted, picking up and putting down an umbrella and a hand warmer.

In the end, it did not appear to be a situation in which the child deliberately failed to pay with the intent to commit theft.

What Is the Crime of Theft?

As in this case, 🔗juvenile theft is a crime of stealing another person's property, also called stealing.

In the case of juveniles, they are divided, according to age, into juveniles prone to delinquency, juveniles below the age of criminal responsibility, and juvenile offenders, and their punishment is classified differently.

This is established in all situations involving the stealing of another person's property.

<🔗Theft Punishment>

Article 329 of the Criminal Act (Theft)

A person who steals another's property shall be punished by imprisonment for not more than 6 years or a fine not exceeding 10 million won.

Elements of the Offense	Content
Another's Property	Property owned and possessed by another person
Intent of Unlawful Acquisition	The intent to acquire another's property through an unlawful act Even if a person takes another's property, if it is returned to its place, there is no intent of acquisition, and the crime is not established
Act of Stealing	Taking another's property into one's own possession against the other person's will

What Is the Crime of Destruction of Property?

Destruction of property is a case in which a person, with the awareness of infringing on another's property, damages or conceals an item or otherwise renders the item's original usefulness void.

<🔗Destruction of Property Punishment>

Article 366 of the Criminal Act (Destruction of Property)

A person who damages or conceals another's property, document, or special media record such as an electromagnetic record, or otherwise impairs its usefulness,

shall be punished by imprisonment for not more than 3 years or a fine not exceeding 7 million won.

Elements of the Offense	Content
Another's Property	Another's property, document, electromagnetic record, or other object that has usefulness
Intent to Destroy	Acting with the intent to destroy, such as damaging, destroying, or deleting a record
Act of Destruction	The property must actually be damaged for the crime to be established

Even if only a minor loss occurs, if there was intent to destroy another's property, the crime of destruction may be established.

3. Theft Attorney | Details of the Assistance

Daeryun Law Firm theft attorney theft case non-referral case

Referring to the legal principles above, the theft attorney argued that the client's child did not intentionally commit theft or destruction of property.

① No Intent to Commit Theft

The unmanned store where this incident occurred was located next to the apartment where the client and child lived, and the child was fully aware that if a failure to pay were discovered, the incident could spread by word of mouth and cause significant disadvantage to the child.

② Does Not Constitute Destruction of Property

The client's child touched the doll whose packaging had been removed several times but put it back in its place. Even from the perspective of an ordinary person, an item whose packaging has already been removed is regarded as no longer being sold as a new product, and handling the doll cannot be seen as having impaired its usefulness.

4. Theft Attorney | The Case Concluded With a Non-Referral Decision Due to No Suspicion of Theft

Thanks to the theft attorney's pleading, the client's case concluded with a non-referral at the police investigation stage.

If you are suspected of theft as in this case, the assistance of an attorney in the 🔗Criminal Group of Daeryun Law Firm can be helpful.

By identifying the scale and type of the client's case, attorneys are assigned in numbers from the early stage of the case and oversee it.

If you 🔗request a criminal attorney, you can 🔗schedule a legal consultation with a criminal attorney and talk it through.

This content is based on actual cases handled by Daeryun Law LLC and has been partially adapted. All copyrights belong to Daeryun Law LLC.
Unauthorized reproduction, copying or distribution may result in legal action under applicable laws.