"Unfriendly staff"… Part-time worker filed false complaints to shut down the store

A part-time employee who falsely filed a complaint by borrowing her boyfriend's name because she had a dispute with the store owner was convicted of obstruction of business.

Incheon District Court sentenced Mr. A, who was indicted on charges of obstruction of business in a first trial case last October, to 8 months in prison with a two-year probation.

Mr. A worked as an employee at the Bag Brand D store located in a department store in Incheon. In late July 2023, after being reprimanded by the store owner regarding his work attitude and having a dispute, he became emotionally upset and submitted his resignation on July 30 of the same month.

A has worked at this department store for about a year, including this store, and is well aware of the operations and regulations of the stores within the department store. Using this knowledge, they decided to play a prank on the store owner.

A knew that if a customer's complaint was received three or more times through the department store's VOC (Voice of Customer), the store could face significant disadvantages in renewing its contract with the bag brand headquarters. He also knew that around July 2023, when he was working, one VOC had been received about the store.

On the day of her resignation, A accessed the department store's website from home using a computer and posted a message under her boyfriend's name saying, "The staff are unkind."

The story was about going into a store with my girlfriend, where the staff only stared at us while eating ice cream and didn't respond, showing no interest, and even when we asked them to take out an item, they seemed annoyed. The store on the same floor was friendly and good, but this particular store was especially unfriendly, and I plan not to use it again.

At intervals, again in early August, I posted a message under my boyfriend's name saying "a person who filed a complaint about staff rudeness." The message included comments such as "The store clerk selling handbags has bright hair and needs basic training," "The attitude of the staff is poor, and there are no managers around, only employees who look like children," and "I'm a self-employed person, and this is not an outlet or department store, so is this how staff are managed?"

However, in reality, A had never visited the store as a customer, and all the posts posted on VOC were false.

Nevertheless, D Brand headquarters, following regulations, refused to renew the contract with the store, leading to the store's closure and ceasing operations. Ultimately, A's misconduct was uncovered, and they were prosecuted.

The court convicted A of the crime of obstruction of business.

The court emphasized, "The defendant's misconduct is not commendable, as they received a notice that the store would not be renewed due to the crime, resulting in the victim being unable to operate the store." It also stated, "It is necessary to impose strict punishment due to factors such as the victim not forgiving the defendant." However, considering that "the defendant admitted to the crime in court, reflected on their wrongdoing, and pledged not to reoffend," as well as the fact that "they are a first-time offender with no prior criminal record," the court sentenced the defendant to 8 months in prison with a two-year probation.

A certified labor attorney said, "Many times, workers or employers who cannot control their emotions and become obsessed with trying to annoy the other party lose their sense of judgment and cross the line," and added, "Department stores and brand headquarters should establish a system to filter out such false complaints before uniformly refusing contract extensions."

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There seem to be so many truly diverse people in the world..
Always remember that your actions are always your responsibility.
I hope you understand well...