Cracking Down on 'Sham Discounts' Before Promotions... Reporting Center for Discount Support on Agricultural and Livestock Products Opens

Reporting Opens to the Public Starting March 16

A reporting center will be operated to prevent so-called 'sham discounts,' in which prices are artificially raised in advance and then discounted just before promotional events for agricultural and livestock products.

The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs and Korea Agro-Fisheries & Food Trade Corporation (aT) announced on March 16 that the 'Reporting Center for Improper Receipt of Discount Support for Agricultural and Livestock Products' will be available on the aT website, starting from March 16, to enhance transparency in the operation of the Discount Support Project for Agricultural and Livestock Products by preventing fraudulent claims.

Storefront scene of the Discount Support Project for Agricultural and Livestock Products. aT

The Discount Support Project for Agricultural and Livestock Products offers approximately 20–30% discounts to consumers on items designated by the Ministry, such as domestic fresh agricultural and livestock products with rising prices, alternative consumption items, and products with increased demand during key periods like holidays and kimchi-making season. Since January this year, the project has been actively implemented in 13,452 stores across 60 online and offline retailers nationwide to reduce the financial burden on the public and to secure a sustainable consumption base for agricultural and livestock products.

The newly established reporting center is an online system where anyone can report suspected cases of improper claims related to the Discount Support Project for Agricultural and Livestock Products. Reportable offenses include cases where participating distributors obtain benefits through fraudulent means, causing the government’s discount support to be appropriated by distributors instead of consumers. Specifically, these include: ▲ raising prices in advance before the event and then selling at a discount, ▲ non-compliance with government-supported discount rates, ▲ repeated use by the same buyer exceeding the individual discount limit, and ▲ submitting inflated sales figures for reimbursement.

The Ministry and aT stated that they would review reports received through the reporting center and, if improper use of subsidies by distributors is confirmed, they will recover the support funds and restrict the distributor's participation in the project. If necessary, the case will be referred to investigative authorities for strict punishment.

Moon Incheol, Director of Supply at aT, said, "By operating the reporting center for improper claims, we aim to enhance transparency in the Discount Support Project for Agricultural and Livestock Products and strengthen management and oversight so that the benefits return to actual consumers rather than distributors. We encourage active reporting of any suspected cases of improper claims."

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