New Clothes Bought from Famous Home Shopping... Turns Out to Be 2-Year-Old Products with 'Label Switching'

3300 Sets Sold of Hyundai Home Shopping Blouse
"Apology to Customers... Prompt Refund Measures"

It has been revealed that a large quantity of so-called 'label switching' products, where labels on inventory clothing made two years ago in 2021 were changed to make them appear as new items, were sold through a major domestic home shopping channel.

According to a Yonhap News report on the 22nd, Hyundai Home Shopping sold over 3,300 sets of blouse products through broadcasts and online shopping malls from the 22nd of last month to the 6th of this month. Each set consisted of three blouses, and after going through discount processes, they were sold in the 40,000 to 50,000 KRW range, achieving a total order amount of about 150 million KRW.

The product on the left shows traces of so-called 'label switching,' while the product on the right is labeled with the manufacturing date 'April 2021.'
[Photo by Yonhap News]

The labels on these products indicated a manufacturing date of July this year, but it was found that the actual production period was in 2021. Domestic clothing company A commissioned company B, which has a factory in China, to produce these blouse products in March 2021. Company B produced the products between April and May of the same year but failed to meet the delivery deadline, and some products reportedly had defects. Additionally, the delivery contract was ultimately canceled because the products did not meet certain criteria during the Korean Apparel Testing & Research Institute inspection, which must be passed before clothing sales.

However, these products were sold at Hyundai Home Shopping this year as if they were newly produced, despite being over two years old. Industry insiders speculate that the products were supplied to Hyundai Home Shopping through another clothing company, and during this process, the manufacturing date on the labels was changed to make it appear as if the products were produced this year, a practice known as 'label switching.' In fact, some products delivered through home shopping reportedly still show clear traces of the original labels being removed and new labels being attached.

In response, Hyundai Home Shopping explained that sales were suspended on the 6th of this month due to issues raised regarding the products. They are also issuing refunds to customers who purchased the products. However, it was found that consumers who bought the products were only informed about the product issues and the possibility of returns and refunds on the 20th, after the label switching fact became publicly known. This has led to criticism that the company caused inconvenience to many customers due to inadequate quality control and delayed response even after recognizing the problem.

A Hyundai Home Shopping representative said, "We sincerely apologize to customers who purchased the products. We are notifying all customers about the related facts and are promptly processing returns and refunds for those who experienced quality issues. We will manage product quality more thoroughly in the future."

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