Gyeonggi Uijeongbu Police Station Arrests Distributor Based on Intelligence
On the 1st, when the number of confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) surpassed 3,500, citizens lined up in long queues to purchase masks at an emergency no-margin mask sale event held at Haengbokhan Department Store in Yangcheon-gu, Seoul. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@
[Asia Economy Reporter Yoo Byung-don] A man in his 50s in the distribution industry was arrested by the police for hoarding 11,000 masks to make excessive profits.
The Uijeongbu Police Station in Gyeonggi Province announced on the 10th that A (53, male, medical supplies seller) was booked without detention on charges of violating the Price Stabilization Act.
According to the police, based on a tip about a distributor proposing a joint purchase of 1 million masks to the Gyeonggi-do Pharmaceutical Association, police conducted a crackdown and arrested A around 10 p.m. on the 2nd at a logistics warehouse in Ansan, Gyeonggi Province.
The police also seized 11,000 masks that A was storing.
During the investigation, A admitted to storing the masks for a long period with the intention of raising prices and agreed to hand over all the stock for public sale.
Under the Price Stabilization Act, storing masks or hand sanitizers exceeding 1.5 times the average monthly sales volume for more than five days is punishable by up to two years in prison or a fine of up to 50 million KRW.
The police found that A had stored the masks for about a month.
The police are conducting further investigations on A and plan to continue focusing on cracking down on activities that disrupt mask distribution order.
A police official stated, "Most of the seized masks were legitimate products of KF94 grade," and added, "Measures have been taken to ensure the seized items are quickly distributed to stabilize mask supply."
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