President Moon's Last Lunar New Year Gift Set Spotted Selling for 300,000 Won on Secondhand Market

A post selling a Lunar New Year gift set of President Moon Jae-in on an online secondhand trading community.
[Photo by Junggonara, a secondhand trading community]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kwon Seoyoung] Ahead of the Lunar New Year holiday, former President Moon Jae-in's final Lunar New Year gift set from his term is attracting attention as it is being traded on various online secondhand trading communities for up to 300,000 KRW.

Recently, posts selling President Moon's Lunar New Year gift sets have been continuously appearing on various secondhand trading communities such as Junggonara and Danggeun Market. It is known that this gift set was sent by President Moon and his wife to about 15,000 people, including national merit recipients, socially disadvantaged groups, COVID-19 quarantine workers, and key figures.

The gift set includes local specialties such as Gimpo Munbaeju or honey, plum extract from Gwangyang in Jeonnam, omija syrup from Mungyeong in Gyeongbuk, chestnuts from Buyeo in Chungnam, and New Year's cards. The New Year's card contains President Moon's message: "I will cherish each day until I return to the people in the last year of my term and finish the state affairs," and "In the new year, we will be able to leap high like a tiger."

Currently, President Moon's gift sets are being traded within secondhand trading communities at prices ranging from about 230,000 KRW to 300,000 KRW. The original cost of the Blue House holiday gift set is estimated to be around 100,000 KRW, but due to the premium of being the president's final gift set, the price has risen nearly two to three times.

Additionally, empty boxes of the gift set have also been spotted trading for around 50,000 KRW, drawing attention. The outer surface of this gift box features a sunrise scene with an island in the background. Recently, the Japanese Embassy refused to accept the gift set, claiming that the island's image resembles Dokdo.

Meanwhile, on Junggonara, the search frequency for various gift set-related keywords has increased ahead of the Lunar New Year holiday. According to Junggonara, an analysis of transaction data during last Chuseok and Lunar New Year holidays revealed that gift sets were mostly registered on the last weekday before the holiday started, and prices were on average 20-50% cheaper compared to the lowest internet prices.