A trash bag containing 25 million won ($18,000) in cash was found in a residential area of Incheon, but no owner ever came forward, and ownership of the money passed to the person who found it.
The cash was discovered on Feb. 10 in a 20-liter standard-volume garbage bag left beside a villa (a low-rise multi-unit home, distinct from a luxury villa) in Geumgok-dong, Jemulpo District, Incheon, according to the Jemulpo Police Station on the 2nd.
The money consisted of 50,000-won notes bundled in stacks of 100 with Bank of Korea paper bands, with clothing laid on top, police said.
A person in their 60s identified as A was examining trash bags to collect used clothing when they found the bundles of cash and immediately reported it to police.
After such a large sum turned up in a garbage bag, police worked to locate the owner while also checking whether the money was linked to any crime.
Police posted notices of the find on the national lost-and-found portal and in a local newspaper, and put up flyers near the site where the cash was discovered.
Officers also visited dozens of nearby households to ask whether any resident had lost the money, but no one claimed ownership.
Fingerprint analysis yielded no biometric information that could identify the owner, and nearby closed-circuit television footage showed nothing unusual.
Speculation over where the money came from continued, but no owner appeared, and six months passed.
Under the law, if no owner asserts a claim within six months of the public notice, ownership of lost property transfers to the finder.
As a result, A received a transfer of 19.23 million won in August — the 25 million won minus 5.77 million won covering a 22% tax and the cost of the local newspaper notice.
A was also not disqualified from taking ownership on grounds such as failing to report or hand over found property within seven days, and therefore gained ownership of the money as the first finder.
"We confirmed there was no connection to any crime, but the owner of the cash never came forward," a police official said. "The money was held in the national treasury before being paid out to A."
