"It was ridiculous. I couldn't even imagine that my student ID, which I lost a long time ago, was being stolen from somewhere."
Kim, a 23-year-old college student in Chuncheon, received a phone call from the police in March.
It was a story about asking a police station to visit the police station because an out-of-school teenager caught Kim's student ID, which he lost three or four years ago, while using it at a convenience store and is investigating the case.
Surprised by the thought that someone was still using his student ID, which he had forgotten because it was a long time ago, Mr. Kim hurriedly headed to the police station, where he found out that the youth used his student ID to purchase alcohol and cigarettes habitually.
The youth in question repeatedly used the method of purchasing alcohol and cigarettes after depositing money, exploiting the fact that the student ID is connected to a bank account and payment is possible as well as adult verification through Kim's student ID.
The crime could go on for a longer period of time if a convenience store owner found it strange and did not report it to the police.
Kim wrote a non-punishment letter considering that the perpetrator was a juvenile, but he could not hide his absurd look, saying, "I am afraid that something like this will happen again."
Convenience store owners are equally troubled by the abuse of their university student IDs by teenagers.
There are many cases where parents buy alcohol and cigarettes just by looking at their student ID card, and then their parents come to ask questions.
Convenience stores near universities are the sole responsibility of convenience stores, which are loved by teenagers who dare to look for their relatively poor identity verification.
A merchant in his 50s, who has been running a convenience store near Kangwon University for 15 years, said, "It is difficult to distinguish even by looking at the student ID." "If in doubt, take off the mask and ask to show your face in detail. ' he complained.
Other convenience store owners also said, "It's not realistically easy to test every single one of them when there are a lot of people rushing in," or "I really wanted to quit after selling alcohol and cigarettes without knowing that I was a teenager. ' he complained.
Even in June of last year, a convenience store that received a fine of 1 million won and a penalty for damage to dignity from the convenience store headquarters after a teenager picked up a lost card and purchased alcohol and cigarettes, ultimately chose to close.
A man in his 50s, who closed a convenience store and changed his business to a mobile phone store a month ago, said, "The proportion of this case was quite large in the decision to close the business."
Behind the incident, school violence perpetrators picked up the lost card and ordered the victim to buy alcohol and cigarettes, but it is known that the perpetrators did not receive any punishment.
Nam said, "It was very difficult. The loss was great, and the business did not go well because of Corona 19. Eventually, the store closed."
In this way, when teenagers buy alcohol or cigarettes at a convenience store, the convenience store is subject to criminal punishment or administrative disposition, but teenagers are usually punished.
(Photo = Yonhap News)