China imposes fine on online retailer for sending suspicious parcels to S. Korea: official

▲ This photo provided by the local fire department shows a package from Taiwan delivered to a home in Incheon, 27 kilometers southwest of Seoul, on July 21, 2023. Police have launched an investigation after a welfare center for the disabled in the southeastern city of Ulsan received a parcel from Taiwan suspected of containing a gaseous poison the previous day and reports of similar suspicious mail packages followed across the country. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)

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China imposes fine on online retailer for sending suspicious parcels to S. Korea: official

SEOUL, Nov. 2 (Yonhap) -- China has slapped a fine on an online retailer for sending suspicious packages across South Korea earlier this year, a foreign ministry official said Thursday.

In July, over 3,000 reports of suspicious international parcels were filed to the police from across the nation, sparking fears of terrorism. Investigation by the police showed no hazardous substances were found in the parcels.

The police concluded that the parcels were sent from China via Taiwan as part of "brushing scams," in which sellers at online shopping platforms send unordered products to people after illegally acquiring personal information. The scam is aimed at boosting sales and manipulating sellers' ratings on online shopping sites.

"China has recently notified us that it has imposed a fine as an administrative penalty on the concerned business, and said it will continue to strictly crack down on practices involving unfair competition," the official at Seoul's foreign ministry said.

Chinese authorities did not provide further information, including the exact amount of the fine and the name of the online retailer, according to the official.

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