"1.05 Million Masks, Sold for 1.4 Billion Won" Illegal Trade Uncovered

On the 5th, amid ongoing concerns about the spread of the novel coronavirus infection, Chinese nationals at Incheon International Airport Terminal 1 departure hall are organizing masks into boxes to send to China. / Yeongjongdo - Photo by Kim Hyunmin kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Dae-yeol] A company attempting to resell a large quantity of health masks at inflated prices has been caught by authorities. This occurred just one day after the government launched a joint crackdown following the mask shortage caused by concerns over the novel coronavirus infection (Wuhan pneumonia).

The Central Investigation Team for Hazardous Crimes under the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety announced on the 10th that it had uncovered illegal transactions by Company A, which sells masks online. According to the Ministry's investigation, this company advertised selling 1.05 million health masks for 1.4 billion KRW in cash, lured buyers to highway rest areas, then took them to storage warehouses to complete sales, a method used to evade the crackdown. This is the largest volume of illegal transactions detected in a single case to date.

Company officials were storing 1.05 million masks in a factory warehouse but locked the warehouse and some fled when the crackdown occurred. The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety is conducting additional investigations into the entire distribution process from manufacturing to sellers.

Masks stored in the warehouse of a company caught in a joint government crackdown

Company B, which specializes in mask distribution, was also caught for hoarding. Although this company, selling health masks through an online market, had sufficient stock from the 31st of last month to the 6th, it displayed the items as sold out. On-site inspections revealed that the warehouse held stock equivalent to 390,000 masks. The inventory held from the 31st to the 5th was 460,000 masks.

This exceeds the hoarding criteria of 150% of last year's average monthly sales (110,000 masks) and was stored for more than five days, which is cited as the reason for the violation. The government has formed a joint crackdown team of over 180 personnel from 30 teams, including the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, the Fair Trade Commission, the National Police Agency, the National Tax Service, the Customs Service, and local governments, to crack down on such illegal activities.

The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety stated, "We will never tolerate market disruption acts that hold public safety hostage, including mask hoarding that exploits public anxiety," and added, "We will strictly respond to ensure that the government's strong measures and determination are effective on the ground."

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