Sejong Intensifies Crackdown on Unfair Trade Practices Involving Masks and Hand Sanitizers

[Asia Economy (Sejong) Reporter Jeong Il-woong] Sejong City will intensively crack down on unfair trade practices involving preventive supplies for the novel coronavirus infection (Wuhan Pneumonia), such as masks and hand sanitizers.

According to the city on the 6th, the crackdown targets acts such as price increases due to collusion among manufacturers, distributors, and sellers of these supplies, hoarding, and failure to comply with price labeling regulations.

Earlier, since the 31st of last month, the city has participated in a government joint inspection team along with the Fair Trade Commission, the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, and the National Tax Service.

In addition, the city plans to form its own guidance and inspection team to focus on cracking down on companies producing and selling masks and hand sanitizers in the region.

The guidance and inspection team will be composed of employees from the city's Economic and Industrial Bureau and organizations such as Sejong YWCA, and plans to take measures such as reporting violations to the Fair Trade Commission when violations are detected during on-site inspections.

Along with this, the city operates a Consumer Reporting Center to provide consultation and response services for consumer damage cases.

Kwon Young-seok, head of the city's Economic Policy Division, said, “We will focus on blocking acts that disrupt market order by exploiting the surge in demand for masks and hand sanitizers due to the novel coronavirus, thereby alleviating citizens' anxiety.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.