Apparently there’s gold in them there trash cans!! At least in South
Korea.
It seems a janitor was doing his daily routing when he lifted an unusually
heavy bin of refuse. Upon further investigation, the janitor who wishes to
remain anonymous ( can’t blame him!! ), found 7 kilo bars of gold worth
$325,000.
A janitor in South Korea who
discovered seven gold bars in a garbage bin could keep them if no-one else
claims ownership.
The unidentified male cleaner found the discarded gold bars, that each
weighed 1 kilogram and were wrapped in newspaper, at Seoul’s Incheon
International Airport on Thursday, according to local media reports.
Altogether, the bars are worth 350 million won ($325 million).
The owner of the bullion is a Korean man, according to Seoul-based Yonhap
News Agency, and two other men ditched the bars at the request of the
owner out of fear of being searched at customs. CNBC
It doesn’t matter if the owner ever claims the 7 kilos or not as the
janitor will receive a “finders fee” between 5 and 20% of the total value.
How awesome would it be to come home from a hard-days work doing a thankless
job and have somewhere between 1 and 7 kilos of gold? WOW!
Whether the owner makes a claim for the discarded gold or not, the janitor
will still be able to keep 5 to 20 percent of its market price, amounting to
between 17.5 million won ($16,250) and 70 million won ($65,000), in
accordance with South Korean law, The
Korea Timesreported. But he could also lose it all if the items are found
to be tainted or linked to criminal activity. CNBC
My guess is the janitor enthusiastically showed up to work the next day
and wether anyone thanks him or not he has the gold and now has tears of the Sun reigning down in his life!
UPDATE: the “finder” may not be eligible to keep any portion or reward –
why? Because it’s Thursday and the government says so.
According to its Lost Articles Act legislation, if an owner doesn’t come
forward to claim found property within six months, the finder will be able to
take ownership. However, this doesn’t apply to employees on company property.
Ironically, if the finder had not been an airport employee, they would
have been eligible to claim between 5-20% of the gold’s total price, a
maximum of 70 million won (£48,000; $65,000) under the law.
It’s not clear who will take ownership of the gold at the end of the six
month waiting period. BBC
