Mask Dealers Attempting Overseas Export and Hoarding Caught by Police One After Another

[Asia Economy Reporter Yoo Byung-don] Amid the spread of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) causing a 'mask crisis,' traders who hoarded masks or attempted to export large quantities abroad have been consecutively caught by the police.

On the 29th, the Geumcheon Police Station in Seoul announced that they apprehended two men suspected of purchasing about 20,000 masks domestically and attempting to export them abroad, and booked them on charges of violating the Price Stabilization Act.

At around 3 a.m. that day, the police received a report that these individuals were moving boxes of masks on a roadside in an area of Geumcheon-gu, Seoul, and they were taken in for voluntary accompaniment and investigation.

A police official stated, "It is presumed that they purchased the masks in bulk to export them abroad," adding, "We are investigating the purchase routes of the masks to determine whether there was hoarding or violation of emergency supply adjustment measures."

The police secured all the masks from them in the form of voluntary submission.

A distributor who stored 30,000 masks in a warehouse in Gangseo-gu and attempted to sell them in bulk on online secondhand trading sites was also caught by a joint crackdown team from the Gangseo Police Station and the Seoul Metropolitan Government's Fair Competition Policy Team.

The police are reviewing whether Mr. A's actions constitute hoarding or violation of emergency supply adjustment measures.

The police added that the discovered masks were instructed not to be stockpiled in the warehouse but to be distributed in the market.

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