False complaints about "unfriendly employees" under her boyfriend's name...a part-timer who closed his store

ⓒYonhap News Agency

A part-timer who filed a false complaint and caused the store to close was convicted of obstruction of business.

In October, the Incheon District Court sentenced A to eight months in prison and two years of probation in the first trial case against A, who was charged with obstruction of business.

Earlier, while working at a bag brand D store in a department store in Incheon, A resigned in July 2023 when the store owner pointed out his working attitude.

In the case of the D store, A found out that if customer complaints are received more than three times through the Voice of Customer (VOC) of the department store, he could be greatly disadvantaged in extending the contract with the headquarters, and on the day of his departure, he posted a complaint on the department store's website saying, "The employee is unfriendly."

"I went into the store with my girlfriend, and the employee only ate ice cream and looked at me without responding, and I was bothered to take out the item," he wrote in the complaint, adding that he would not use the store.

In early August, he posted again in his boyfriend's name, "Employees who dyed their hair need basic training," "There are only employees who don't see their managers because they have a bad working attitude," and "How is employee management like this at department stores, not outlets?"

As such articles continued to be posted, Brand D's headquarters refused to extend the contract with the store in accordance with regulations, and the store was closed.

"The crime is not good in that the store was notified that the store refused to extend the contract," the court said. "It is necessary to punish strictly for not being forgiven by the victim."

However, he was sentenced to two years of probation in August, saying, "We acknowledged the crime in court, reflected on the mistakes, and vowed not to repeat the crime, and considered that he was a first-time offender with no criminal record."

Reporter Lee Yu Na from Digital News Team.