"SK Hynix Stock Windfall"... Teenager With Wads of Cash Turns Thief at Jewelry Store

Broke Display Case with Hammer and Stole Jewelry
Apprehended Within an Hour of the Crime

A teenage boy pretended to be a customer at a jewelry store, chose a gift, broke a display case, and fled with gold bracelets worth tens of millions of won. Photo by MBC

A teenage boy, referred to as A, who pretended to pick out a gift at a jewelry store, claiming he wanted to give a present to his parents for buying him SK hynix stock, has been caught by the police after fleeing with several gold bracelets.

According to MBC on April 28, A is suspected of pretending to browse for jewelry at a jewelry store in Gwangju, Gyeonggi Province, around 3:30 p.m. on April 27, then smashing a display case with an emergency hammer from a bus and fleeing with several gold bracelets.

Prior to the crime, A showed the store owner a shopping bag containing 600 bills of 50,000 won (a total of 30 million won), saying, "My father gave me SK hynix stock as a gift, and it turned out to be a big hit, so I withdrew this money because I want to buy gifts for my father and mother." However, this money was also counterfeit.

A teenage boy pretended to be a customer at a jewelry store, broke a display case, stole gold bracelets worth tens of millions of won, and ran away. Photo by MBC News footage capture

Responding to the report, police arrested A urgently along the Gonjiamcheon Stream, about 6 kilometers from the jewelry store, just over an hour after the incident. Though A claimed to have dropped the stolen gold bracelets into the stream, the police could not find them.

The store owner reportedly claims damages of between 50 million and 70 million won. The police are tracking the whereabouts of the missing gold bracelets and investigating whether A had any accomplices, including a man he called using the store owner's mobile phone before the crime. Police are planning to request an arrest warrant for A.

According to Article 329 of the Criminal Act, a person who steals another's property faces up to six years in prison or a fine of up to 10 million won. If the offense is habitual, the penalty may be increased by up to half of the statutory term. Notably, theft is not a crime subject to complaint, so prosecution can proceed even if the victim does not wish to press charges.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.