The Story of a Poster Removed for Child Safety Becoming a Crime

In Gimpo City, Gyeonggi Province, an incident occurred where a woman in her 30s faced charges for property damage after removing a poster from an elevator due to concerns for her young child's safety.

According to the Gimpo Police Station on the 20th, Ms. A—identified as a woman in her 30s—was embroiled in a criminal case after removing a poster attached to an elevator in an apartment complex on June 27.

At the time, Ms. A was using the elevator while holding her young daughter, who was under one year old. She observed her child continuously reaching out to touch the poster, fearing that her daughter's hand might get hurt, which prompted her to remove the poster.

Ms. A stated that the poster was made up of several sheets of A4 paper layered on top of each other, and since it was already in a tattered state with no official seal from the management office, she thought there would not be any serious issues.

However, contrary to her expectations, the owner of the poster filed a property damage complaint against her, and the police determined there was sufficient evidence, including CCTV footage, to forward the case to the prosecution.

An Unexpected Outcome from Apartment Resident Conflict

The backdrop of this incident involved tensions between the apartment residents and the residents' representative committee.

Ms. A learned that the poster reflecting the position of a specific resident had been affixed to every elevator only after she became the accused.

Due to the intense conflict among residents, even the management office refrained from intervening with the poster. However, Ms. A, busy raising three children, was completely unaware of these circumstances.

After hearing the full story of the incident, the apartment management office chief and the residents' representative attempted to persuade the complainant, but ultimately, the complaint was not withdrawn.

In a conversation with Yonhap News, Ms. A expressed her surprise and frustration, stating, "I didn't realize that simply removing it like a poster I thought was illegal would be considered a criminal act." She also mentioned, "Having spent a long time in the teaching profession, I've never been to the police station before," emphasizing that she had no intention of recklessly disregarding or seizing someone else's property.

On the other hand, the police took the stance that Ms. A clearly damaged a poster that the complainant claimed held property value, thus meeting the criteria for property damage charges.

A police official explained, "While there may be aspects that seem unfair from Ms. A's perspective, it is difficult to determine that no crime was committed."

Similar cases have occurred in the past. In Yongin, a middle school student was charged with removing a poster from an elevator last May but was cleared of charges after a follow-up investigation.

At that time, the police altered their opinion to "no charges" considering that the poster obstructed the mirror function in the elevator and that there was no intent to cause damage.

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