'Suspicious International Package Suspected of Poison Found... Chinese Cosmetics Company Sent Randomly'

Police: "No Toxic or Narcotic Substances"... Case Closed
Ministry of Foreign Affairs Requests Chinese Authorities to Take Action Against the Company

After the unidentified overseas parcels, first reported in Ulsan last July and subsequently delivered nationwide, were investigated, it was revealed that a Chinese cosmetics sales company had randomly sent them by combining domestic addresses. Furthermore, the analysis confirmed that the parcels did not contain any harmful substances such as toxins or narcotics, leading the police to close the case.

On the 21st, the Ulsan Police Agency announced that they concluded the suspicious poison parcel case with a 'no charges' decision and plan to dismiss the investigation.

On July 20th, a firefighter is inspecting an international package sent to a welfare facility for the disabled in Dong-gu, Ulsan. [Photo by Ulsan Fire Department, Yonhap News]

The incident began when three people, including the director and staff of a welfare facility for the disabled in Ulsan, experienced breathing difficulties and arm numbness after opening an international parcel delivered on July 20. They were subsequently transported to a hospital. Following this, reports of 'suspicious parcels' from overseas surged nationwide, exceeding 3,000 cases over six days in locations including Jeju, Daejeon, Haman, and Yongin, escalating public fear of overseas mail.

The police requested chemical, biological toxicity, and narcotics analyses from the Agency for Defense Development and the National Forensic Service on the Ulsan parcels and others, but all tests showed no abnormalities. The police then initiated international cooperation with Interpol, the Taipei Mission in Korea, and the Korean Embassy in China, based on the fact that the parcels bore a Taiwanese address. As a result, it was confirmed that the parcels were sent by a cosmetics sales company in China.

The police believe that the Chinese cosmetics company randomly sent parcels by arbitrarily combining addresses. Previously, the police had suspected this was a 'brushing scam' method, where unordered items are sent to unspecified recipients to manipulate product reviews.

A police official stated, "It appears that the parcels were sent to delivery addresses generated by a specific address creation program," adding, "There is no evidence of harmful substance injection or illegal use of Korean personal information."

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has requested the Chinese authorities to take appropriate measures against the cosmetics company and to cooperate in preventing similar incidents from recurring.