Merchants at Sorae Port in Incheon prostrated themselves in front of the fish market, vowing to eradicate overcharging and other unfair practices.
On the 14th, the merchants carried placards with phrases such as “Restoring Customer Trust,” “Ironclad Safety Management,” and “Adherence to Hygiene and Cleanliness,” as they walked throughout the market, appealing for the need for change at Sorae Port Market.
On the 14th, merchants held a midnight contest at the Soraepogu Traditional Fish Market in Namdong-gu, Incheon. [Photo by Yonhap News]
About 100 merchants and fishermen from major merchant and fishing groups within Sorae Port, including the Sorae Port Traditional Fish Market Merchants Association, Sorae Port Fishermen’s Cooperative, and Yeongnam Market Merchants Association, participated in the event.
They pledged to eradicate longstanding bad practices that have been openly conducted at the Sorae Port Traditional Fish Market, such as aggressive solicitation, mixing products, bait-and-switch tactics, and overcharging.
Shin Young-cheol, head of the Sorae Fishermen’s Cooperative, said, “Following the recent ‘Flower Crab Leg Incident,’ we held a self-purification meeting. We will strive to ensure that no such unfortunate incidents occur again and will continue education efforts.”
The Sorae Port Traditional Fish Market is the largest fish market in the Seoul metropolitan area and a popular destination attracting millions of visitors annually. However, complaints have persisted due to some merchants’ overcharging tactics and excessive solicitation.
On the day, Park Jang-bok, president of the Yeongnam Market Merchants Association, added, “I sincerely hope this will be a time for genuine reflection and self-change. I hope this will be the first step toward change.”
Earlier last month, claims surfaced online that a “flower crab bait-and-switch” occurred at Sorae Port. The poster wrote, “I bought two boxes of flower crabs to give to my children, but when I got home, this was the condition,” posting a photo of flower crabs with all their legs cut off. The netizen claimed, “I purchased fresh live flower crabs at Sorae Port, but upon checking at home, they had been switched to crabs missing their legs.”
Since the 12th, the Merchants Association has invited Kwak Ui-taek, chairman of the Korea Small Business Education Promotion Institute, and Jung Geum-jo, a professor at the same institute, to educate merchants on illegal sales practices and complaint cases, as well as how to respond and strategies for improving their image.
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