Seafood Price Inflated by 'Jeoul Chigi' Trick... Merchants Step Up Out of Frustration

A seafood vendor inflated prices using the so-called 'scale cheating' method by placing a heavy brick on top while selling croaker fish, according to a report by MBC's "News Desk" on the 22nd. Photo by MBC

[Asia Economy Reporter Kang Juhee] A seafood vendor was found to have inflated the weight of croaker fish by placing a heavy brick on it while selling.

According to the MBC 'News Desk' report on the 22nd, CCTV footage captured vendor A at a consignment sales center in Mokpo, Jeollanam-do, weighing croaker fish on a scale while placing bricks on it.

On the 5th of last month, Mr. A increased the weight by placing two bricks on a basket while weighing the croaker fish, a so-called 'scale cheating' method, to inflate the price.

Mr. A took a photo of the croaker fish with the inflated weight and posted it on a social networking service (SNS) direct transaction site, offering to sell a large 16-kilogram croaker for 459,000 won.

However, the Korea Federation of Fisheries Cooperatives (Suhyup) confirmed that the actual weight of the croaker was only 10 kilograms.

The incident was uncovered after nearby merchants, unable to tolerate the blatant 'weight deception,' found the CCTV footage and reported it.

Suhyup imposed a suspension of qualifications and a ban on using the sales center on Mr. A for fifteen days.

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