Bought from a Famous Shopping Mall... Three Syringes Found Inside the Padding Pocket 'Shocking'

Criticism from Netizens Continues Over Shopping Mall Response
Clothing and Footwear Spending Down 1.6% Compared to Last Year

A netizen shared a shocking story about finding three syringes after buying a padded jacket from a clothing brand's online store. On the 8th, a post titled "Syringes came out of the pocket of clothes ordered online" was uploaded on the online community Nate Pann. The author, Mr. A, recently bought a padded jacket from an online shopping mall. He wrote, "The weather suddenly got cold, so I asked my family at home to receive the package on my behalf and check it, thinking I would wear it the next day."

A netizen shared a shocking story about finding three syringes after purchasing a padded jacket from a clothing brand's online store. On the 8th, a post titled "Syringes found in the pocket of clothes ordered online" was uploaded on the online community Nate Pann. Online community 'Nate Pann'

However, when the family opened the package and inspected the padded jacket, they found three used syringes in the pocket. Mr. A said, "I searched the words written on the syringe and it seems to be 'Polytrop,' an ovulation inducer. Fortunately, the syringe caps were closed, so no one was hurt. At first, I thought it might be something like drugs, but it wasn’t. Still, just thinking about someone getting pricked by the syringe needles is terrifying," expressing his disbelief.

Mr. A, who was dumbfounded, immediately contacted customer service. He said, "The person who responded was also flustered and said, 'Recently, as the volume of orders has increased, there are many cases where returns are not properly inspected and are shipped as is.'" However, he added, "No matter what, it’s shocking that such large items in pockets are not checked and the operation is so careless."

Mr. A said, "I’m seeking advice on what to do. Since no one was hurt, is it just a matter of quietly returning the item? I have purchased many items online, but this is the first time I’ve encountered such a ridiculous case," adding, "I don’t even know if I can get any compensation in this situation." Netizens who read the story responded with comments such as, "Both the person who wore the clothes and returned them and the company that didn’t properly inspect are at fault," "People undergoing IVF get injections like that a lot. Drug users don’t put the caps back on," and "The person who returned the item with syringes was careless, and the shopping mall’s response was ridiculous."

Meanwhile, according to the Statistics Korea’s Household Trend Survey results on the 8th, the average monthly consumption expenditure per household in the third quarter of last year was 2,907,000 KRW, with spending on clothing and footwear decreasing by 1.6% from the previous year to 114,000 KRW. The proportion of clothing and footwear in consumption expenditure was only 3.9%, the lowest since quarterly statistics began in 2019. The share of clothing and footwear dropped from 5.4% in the previous quarter to the 3% range. Fashion companies struggled to sell many clothes until autumn due to the combination of high inflation and a prolonged heatwave. Samsung C&T’s fashion division recorded an operating profit of 21 billion KRW in the third quarter of last year, down 36% year-on-year.

Shinsegae International’s operating profit in the third quarter also plunged 65% year-on-year to 2.1 billion KRW. Kolon Industries’ FNC division posted an operating loss of 14.9 billion KRW, with the deficit widening. Retail sales statistics from the Industrial Activity Trend also show that clothing sales have been in the negative for 11 consecutive months from December 2023 (-0.7%) to October last year (-2.7%). The industry had hoped for a winter sales rebound, but winter clothing sales also fell short of expectations. The fashion industry is particularly sensitive to increasing inventory because of the nature of clothing, which is highly trend-sensitive and quickly loses asset value after one season. When many clothes are sold at a discount because they don’t sell at normal prices, it affects the business outlook for the following year, as consumers tend to focus on discounted items rather than new products. Some experts warn that if winter inventory is not partially cleared early in the year, poor sales could continue into the next winter at worst.