Fair Trade Commission Shuts Down 'Sakurastrada', a Fraudulent Luxury Shopping Mall

[Asia Economy Sejong=Reporter Dongwoo Lee] The Fair Trade Commission has shut down the luxury goods purchasing agency shopping mall Sacrastrada, which was embroiled in a 'Muk-twi' controversy.

On the 17th, the Fair Trade Commission announced that it imposed a temporary suspension order to halt all sales by Sacrastrada and, with the cooperation of hosting service providers, closed the shopping mall.

According to the Fair Trade Commission, Sacrastrada, which opened on May 11, sold about 23,000 types of luxury bags, shoes, and clothing, pretending to offer discounts of 15-35%, collected payments from consumers, but did not deliver the goods.

The amount of consumer damage identified so far amounts to at least 750 million KRW (601 cases). One person lost about 6 million KRW in purchase payments.

The investigation revealed that the company was originally a 'ghost business' with no office or resident employees.

Although the shopping mall claimed that all products sold were genuine and would be delivered to consumers within 14 days, the actual posted products were practically impossible to supply to consumers.

Jeon Young-jae, head of the Electronic Commerce Division at the Fair Trade Commission, said, "Sacrastrada was a non-existent business that could not perform any of the necessary tasks to sell products," adding, "There is no confirmed case of products being properly delivered to consumers."

To import products sold overseas into the country and supply them to consumers, a business site and employees to handle customs clearance, domestic delivery, and customer complaints are required, but Sacrastrada had neither a business site nor resident employees. When the Fair Trade Commission and Seoul City designated Sacrastrada as a shopping mall with frequent complaints and made it public, the shopping mall even changed its name to Karapro.

According to the Electronic Commerce Act, the Fair Trade Commission can issue a temporary suspension order when it is clear that a business operator has used deceptive methods to lure consumers, causing property damage to consumers, and there is a risk of widespread irreparable damage to many consumers.

This is the second time the Fair Trade Commission has issued a temporary suspension order since the system was introduced in September 2016.

The Fair Trade Commission stated, "We will promptly complete the ongoing investigation into Sacrastrada and take strict measures if additional violations are found," and added, "We will also seek ways to enhance the effectiveness of the temporary suspension order system."

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