"Crab with Missing Leg Not a Major Defect... Please Stop the Criticism" Soraepogu Crab Leg Controversy Rekindled

"Product Standards Are Freshness and Size"
"Damage During Distribution Must Be Understood"

A consumer review claiming that most of the legs of the blue crabs purchased at Incheon Sorae Port were missing has been posted on an online community, reigniting the 'Sorae Port Blue Crab Leg Controversy.' Sorae Port merchants argue that the value of the product cannot be judged solely by the fact that the crab legs are missing.

On the 1st, Shin Young-cheol, head of the Sorae Fishing Village Cooperative, explained in an interview with a media outlet, "Even live blue crabs often lose their legs during the process of catching and moving them to the stalls for sale," adding, "However, this does not necessarily mean there is a significant defect in the product."

In the case of blue crabs, price is determined by freshness, size, and gender, and whether the legs are intact does not greatly affect the product's value.

The blue crabs at Soraepogu, which became a controversy on an online community last May. [Photo by Online Community]

Ahn Kwang-gyun, president of the Sorae Port Traditional Fish Market Merchants Association, also said, "While deliberately substituting crabs without legs is obviously problematic, it is difficult to consider the inclusion of crabs with missing legs as a deceptive sales tactic." He added, "If customers want crabs with all legs intact, we ask merchants to accommodate that as much as possible," emphasizing, "If complaints are filed with the Merchants Association, we will compensate according to procedures and hold the responsible stores accountable."

Ahn also requested, "Most merchants are making efforts to improve, so please stop posting anonymously on communities to create a hostile public opinion."

Earlier, on the 24th of last month, a post titled "Unchanged Sorae Port Blue Crab Purchase Review" was shared on an online community along with photos of blue crabs missing legs. The photos showed crabs missing between 2 to 5 legs out of the usual 10, and one crab had only one leg attached.

The author wrote, "I went from Yongin, Gyeonggi to Sorae Port and bought 2 kg of female blue crabs for 60,000 won," adding, "The merchant said they have nothing to do with crabs missing legs, but I was the fool for believing them." This post sparked renewed criticism of Sorae Port, with over 400 comments.

In May, a similar post was shared online stating, "I bought live blue crabs at Sorae Port, but when I checked at home, the crabs had missing legs," which also drew criticism from netizens.

On the 14th of last month, merchants at the Soraepogu Traditional Fish Market in Namdong-gu, Incheon, shouted slogans as they pledged to eradicate 'overcharging'.
[Photo by Yonhap News]

As the controversy intensified, Sorae Port merchants conducted a three-day education program from the 12th to the 14th of last month to eradicate illegal activities, culminating in a midnight rally on the last day to call for the elimination of aggressive solicitation and overcharging. They bowed deeply to apologize to customers and paraded around the fish market. However, the controversy over blue crab legs continues, and distrust remains.

Currently, at the entrance of the Sorae Port Traditional Fish Market, there is a standard weighing station where consumers can weigh seafood themselves and a complaint box called the 'Customer Voice Box.' The fish market's electronic display board shows price tags reflecting seafood market prices, and on the second floor, a Consumer Reporting Center is also in operation to handle various complaints.

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