Company Selling Masks at 5,980 Won Each... Buyer Files Lawsuit Demanding Refund

A citizen is purchasing a mask at a pharmacy near Jongno 5-ga, Seoul. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Hyesook] A citizen who purchased health masks at high prices due to the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak has filed the first refund lawsuit against the seller.

According to the legal community on the 17th, Mr. A, who lives in Incheon, recently filed a lawsuit for the return of the purchase price against company B, a mask seller located in Buk-gu, Gwangju, at the Incheon District Court.

In the complaint, Mr. A claimed, "Company B charged an exorbitantly high price for masks amid the mask shortage situation, which has driven prices up," and argued, "They must return the unfairly obtained 80,000 won."

He purchased 20 KF94 masks for a total of 119,600 won (5,980 won per mask) on an online shopping mall on the 3rd. While the government-supplied public KF94 masks recently cost between 1,000 and 1,500 won each, company B sold them at 5,980 won per mask, making a profit of over 4,000 won per mask.

Mr. A’s legal representative argued that the mask sales contract between Mr. A and company B constitutes an unfair legal act under Article 104 of the Civil Act and is therefore invalid.

They cited Supreme Court precedents stating that for an unfair legal act to be established, it is sufficient if only some of the conditions such as recklessness or inexperience of the weaker party and urgent necessity are met.

Attorney Hwang Seonghyun, who is handling the lawsuit, stated, "Company B exploited the plaintiff’s fear of possibly being infected with COVID-19 if masks were not obtained immediately, that is, the plaintiff’s psychological urgency, to commit an unfair act."

He added, "As far as I know, this is the first civil lawsuit regarding profiteering by mask sellers since the spread of COVID-19 in Korea," and argued, "Since company B committed an unfair legal act, the profits gained from this must be returned."