Did the 'Garbage Bag' Crisis Arrive?... Dozens of Residents Gather for Free Giveaway, Police Dispatched

After an announcement was broadcast offering free garbage bags, dozens of residents gathered, leading to an incident that even required police intervention.

According to the investigation, the event was organized to attract people with the promise of free garbage bags and then promote agricultural products. After the broadcast, dozens of residents gathered within minutes, revealing citizens' anxiety over the shortage of pay-as-you-throw garbage bags due to the prolonged situation in Iran.

On the afternoon of the 19th, at the entrance of Park A in Songpa-gu, Seoul, the police are confirming the circumstances under which they offered a man free trash bags. Photo by Seokjin Choi

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Starting at around 1:50 p.m. on the 19th, a truck drove through the streets of a neighborhood in Songpa-gu, Seoul, broadcasting an announcement that "residents over the age of 50 can receive free garbage bags if they come to Park A by 2 p.m."

Before 2 p.m., residents began to gather at Park A, and by just after 2 p.m., the crowd quickly grew to over 30 people.

When the person distributing the garbage bags failed to appear even after 2 p.m., residents began to question the situation among themselves, saying things like, "Is this a scam?", "I checked with the district office, and they said there is no such event," and "The police said they don't know anything about it."

On the afternoon of the 19th, at Park A in Songpa-gu, residents lined up to receive free garbage bags being distributed by a man. Photo by Seokjin Choi

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Soon after, the police arrived in response to a report. The officers questioned a middle-aged man believed to have made the announcement, trying to clarify the situation. Another officer called the district office to confirm whether the free distribution of garbage bags was permitted.

The man, holding a black cloth bag that appeared to contain garbage bags, told the police, "I planned to hand out garbage bags as well as promote our agricultural products to the people who gathered." The man's shirt bore the logo of a local agricultural cooperative.

After verifying the facts with the man, when a resident asked, "Isn't this fraud?", the police responded, "This is not fraud." They explained that if the man had sold the garbage bags for payment, it could have been a legal issue, but even though there was another motive, simply distributing garbage bags for free does not constitute any crime, so there was no reason for the police to intervene.

When the officer who had spoken with the district office said, "An official from the district office will contact us shortly," the man replied, "I won't promote anything, and will only distribute the garbage bags I brought," and asked for the police's understanding.

In the end, the man distributed three 10-liter garbage bags to each resident and departed without being able to show the agricultural products he had prepared.

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