Two men in their 60s stole 660 kg of squash from a farm, claimed it was wild or discarded

Two men in their 60s who stole nearly 660 kilograms of kabocha squash from a farm claimed in court that they believed the produce had grown wild or been discarded — but a judge rejected the argument and convicted them.

Judge Park Dong-wook of the Chuncheon District Court's Criminal Division 3 sentenced the two defendants, identified as A, 69, and B, 66, to six months in prison, suspended for one year, on charges of aggravated theft.

The pair were tried on charges of stealing 24 sacks of kabocha squash — totaling about 660 kilograms — from a farm in Hongcheon in three separate incidents between Oct. 31 and Nov. 3, 2025, loading the produce onto a truck and fleeing the scene.

At trial, the defendants pleaded not guilty, arguing they had taken the squash believing it had grown on its own or had been thrown away.

Judge Park rejected that claim, noting that the farm had netting installed to keep out wild animals, which should have indicated to the defendants that someone was actively tending the land.

The judge also pointed to the sheer volume of the haul — 660 kilograms was far too large an amount to be mistaken for wild growth. The defendants had also told investigators they had first taken some squash, eaten it, found it to be in good condition, and then returned for more, making it difficult to believe the squash had appeared abandoned.

"The defendants' method and conduct were not acceptable, the quantity of squash stolen was not small, and the victim has petitioned for a severe punishment," Judge Park said. "Taking into account that some of the stolen goods were returned and that the defendants deposited 1.8 million won ($1,360) for the victim's benefit in an effort to make restitution, I determined the sentence accordingly."

The case is far from isolated. Theft targeting agricultural and fishery produce has continued at a steady pace across the country.

Data obtained from the Korean National Police Agency by Democratic Party lawmaker Park Jeong-hyeon of the National Assembly's Public Administration and Security Committee show that 1,890 cases of farm produce theft — using methods known colloquially as "storehouse raiding" and "field stripping" — were reported over the four years from 2022 to 2025.

Of those, 918 cases were cleared, a clearance rate of 48.6 percent. Storehouse raiding refers to stealing produce stored in warehouses or storage facilities, while field stripping involves secretly harvesting crops that are still growing or have been left in the field after harvest.

The figures have remained consistently high year after year: 523 cases in 2022, 468 in 2023, 481 in 2024, and 418 last year — averaging between 400 and 500 cases annually.

Over the three years from 2023 to last year, when unified reporting categories for agricultural, fishery, livestock and forestry produce theft were introduced, total losses reached 29.35 billion won.