"Homemade-Style Sikhye Claimed to Be Mother's Taste Turns Out Factory-Made"..."This Situation Is Nothing Compared to That"

Cases of Receiving Products with Plastic Not Removed in Delivery
Former Part-Timer Reveals "That's Just the Tip of the Iceberg"

A controversy has erupted online after it was revealed that the 'handmade Sikhye' sold at a fruit store was actually a factory-made product.

On the 13th, an online community post titled "A business that deceived customers by selling factory-made Sikhye as handmade" was published.

Mr. A said, "I often bought handmade Sikhye from a nearby fruit delivery store, but after reading other people's reviews, I found out it was factory-made Sikhye, not homemade. They got caught because they sent it without removing the plastic label."

On the 13th, an online community posted a message titled "A company that deceived customers by selling factory-made Sikhye as handmade Sikhye." According to the author, Mr. A, the market price of the Sikhye produced in the factory is 4,000 won, but the problematic store sells it at 8,000 won, which is twice the price.
[Photo source=Online community 'BobaeDream']

According to Mr. A, the market price of the factory-produced Sikhye is 4,000 KRW, but the problematic store sells it at double the price, 8,000 KRW.

Mr. A said, "A female employee who used to get free drinks when ordering together said, 'Everyone does that these days. I tried it and it was too sweet and tasted like factory-made, but since people said it was delicious, I didn't say anything. Didn't you really know?' She spoke as if people who are deceived are fools. When I got very angry, they treated me like a strange person and insulted me," expressing his frustration.

He continued, "It was ridiculous that she always got free drinks whenever I ordered fruit and Sikhye with my own money. Also, where should I report this business? According to the reviews, they stopped posting without any apology," he said.

The store was selling "handmade traditional Sikhye made exactly in the old traditional way, just like mother's taste" at 4,000 KRW for 500mL and 8,000 KRW for 1.5L, while the "healthy pumpkin Sikhye made by grinding fresh pumpkin" was priced 500 KRW higher for each size.

Netizen B, who saw this post, commented, "The world is so small, it's creepy. This post was already on another community, so I recognized it immediately. I used to work part-time there, and this is just the tip of the iceberg."

B added, "They asked me to peel the plastic off the Sikhye (PET bottle), and I was so shocked by the fraud that I sent photos to my friend. The owner claims the secret sauce is for tteokbokki, but they use factory products. The owner is known for being money-hungry, running a chicken restaurant and selling clothes?anything that makes money," he wrote.

He also pointed out the hygiene conditions of the store. He claimed, "They taste the punch with the spoon they used to make it, then stir it again, and they handle fruits with dirty bare hands that went out for delivery. They say there is no restroom, so they urinate in the back warehouse and spray water, but they store fruit containers and bread there."

At the same time, he added, "They wash dishes only with water. They cut out the bad parts of free fruits they received and make punch, rinse melons that fell on the floor with water, and then package them. It's surprising customers haven't gotten food poisoning. I thought it would explode someday."

Selling factory-made products as 'handmade' constitutes fraud

Earlier, in 2018, the 'Mimi Cookie' couple was caught and punished for selling cookies purchased from a large supermarket as if they were organic handmade cookies, amounting to about 34.8 million won. The photo is not related to the specific content of the article. [Photo by Pixabay]

Purchasing products sold on the market and reselling them while falsely claiming they are 'handmade' can constitute fraud.

Under the current fraud law (Article 347, Paragraph 1 of the Criminal Act), it is stipulated that when a person deceives another to receive property or obtain financial benefits, they may be sentenced to imprisonment for up to 10 years or fined up to 20 million KRW.

In particular, since the business emphasized that the product was handmade when selling, the Food Sanitation Act may also be applied in addition to fraud charges.

In 2018, a couple running 'Mimi Cookie' was caught and punished for selling cookies bought at a large supermarket as organic handmade cookies worth about 34.8 million KRW. At that time, the husband was sentenced to one year in prison with a two-year probation for fraud and violation of the Food Sanitation Act, and the wife was sentenced to eight months in prison with a two-year probation for the same charges.

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