"Leftover from Chuseok"
Adding to living expenses amid high inflation
# Mr. Oh Mo (27), a third-year office worker, put a Spam gift set he received from his company up for sale on a secondhand trading platform ahead of the holiday. He said, "I still have Spam sets left from Chuseok," adding, "If I'm not going to eat them anyway, wouldn't it be better to resell them and add to my living expenses?" He also mentioned, "I plan to sell them at a price slightly cheaper than the usual market price."
Recently, various Lunar New Year gift exchanges have been actively taking place on secondhand trading sites. Due to high inflation and the increased burden of holiday shopping, consumers trying to save even a little money are turning to secondhand markets. In particular, sellers are enticing consumers by selling unwanted gift sets at prices lower than the lowest internet prices.
Consumers Using Secondhand Trading Amid High Inflation
Posts selling spam gift sets are being posted one after another. [Image source='Danggeun Market' screenshot]
According to secondhand trading platforms such as Danggeun Market on the 18th, various gift sets including Spam, canned tuna, and olive oil are being traded at prices about 20-50% cheaper than the lowest internet prices. The 'CJ Special Selection N Set,' consisting of cooking oil, sesame oil, and Spam, has a list price of 39,830 KRW but was traded around 28,000 KRW on secondhand platforms.
One netizen selling Spam sets said, "I received Lunar New Year gifts but won't eat them, so I'm selling some at a low price," adding, "If they don't sell, I might keep them and give them as gifts to relatives later."
This phenomenon has even led to the creation of a new term, 'Myeongjeol Tech.' 'Myeongjeol Tech' is a combination of 'Myeongjeol' (holiday) and 'jaetech' (financial technology), referring to making profits by trading holiday-related products.
The background behind the continuation of 'Myeongjeol Tech' seems to be influenced by high inflation and the spread of resale culture. Buyers can purchase gift sets relatively cheaply amid high inflation, reducing their living expenses burden, while sellers can profit by selling unnecessary gift sets, thus activating secondhand trading.
In particular, consumer satisfaction with secondhand trading is high. Some consumers commented on related posts, saying, "I bought the necessary products cheaply," and "I got almost new products at a special price."
Resale of Health Functional Foods like Red Ginseng is Illegal
Seollal gift sets are displayed at the Lotte Department Store Main Branch in Jung-gu, Seoul. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety stated regarding secondhand trading of holiday gift foods that unauthorized (unregistered) or unlabeled products, expired products (past consumption or distribution dates), and products with packaging opened arbitrarily must not be sold.
In particular, for health functional foods, only businesses registered for health functional food sales are allowed to sell them. Violations may result in imprisonment for up to five years or fines up to 50 million KRW. For example, red ginseng, probiotics, vitamins, lutein, etc., require registration as a health functional food sales business under the Health Functional Food Act to be legally sold.
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