"I Bought It Because It Was Cheap, But I Feel Deceived"

"I recently bought sunscreen on Coupang for nearly half the original price, but I received a product intended for military stores. There was no mention of this in the description, and I was shocked when I received it. Is it normal to sell these products without disclosing that they are for military use?"

A 36-year-old housewife surnamed Lee expressed her frustration on June 26, stating, "If I had known it was a military store product, I wouldn't have bought it. I feel like I've been deceived."

The illegal resale of products exclusively supplied to military stores at half the market price for the welfare of soldiers remains rampant.

Lee Young-ae, a professor of consumer science at Incheon National University, pointed out, "Consumers often purchase these items without knowing they are for military stores, simply because of the low price. In such cases, consumers may face disadvantages in exercising their rightful rights, such as refunds or returns, if a problem arises with the product."

A 38-year-old surnamed Choi said, "The lotion I bought on Naver Smart Store this January had 'For Military Store' written on it. Out of concern, I asked the cosmetics company if it was a counterfeit or if there were any issues with receiving a military-supplied product."

Choi added, "The cosmetics company told me the contents were identical to the lotion sold in the market and that there had been no reports of it being a counterfeit, so I should feel safe using it."

As of June 26, the site where Choi purchased the product was selling about 50 items, including cosmetics like lotions, sunscreens, and hair products, as well as health supplements, all of which were identical to products sold in military stores.

The prices were set higher than those in military stores but lower than market prices.

For one cream product, the official retail price is 38,000 won, but the same volume is sold on this site for 10,490 won.

However, the military store price is 6,930 won, meaning it is being sold with a markup of over 50 percent.

Additionally, a serum with a retail price of 23,000 won is being sold for 12,830 won (military store price: 8,200 won), and a moisturizing cream with a retail price of 43,000 won is sold for 20,970 won (military store price: 7,200 won).

Yet, there is no notice anywhere in the product descriptions on the site stating that these are military store products.

A 28-year-old office worker surnamed Park also said, "I bought a razor on Coupang last April, and when I received it, it said 'For Military Store' on the back. It looked like a regular online product, so I ordered it without suspicion, but I felt uneasy knowing I had purchased a product that is prohibited from resale."

Online communities are also filled with reviews saying, "I bought cosmetics on an open market, and a military store product arrived."

Under the Military Welfare Basic Act, military stores—including marts, shopping towns, and online shopping malls—established and operated by the Defense Welfare Agency are commonly referred to as 'military stores.'

As of 2024, a total of 1,720 locations are in operation nationwide, and only designated personnel, including active-duty soldiers, military families, and veterans, are eligible to use them.

The advantage of military stores is their exceptionally low prices.

As of 2024, the 520 items supplied to military stores have an average discount rate of 55.2 percent.

This has led to the rise of illegal resale.

Methods include eligible users purchasing products to resell them directly, or private businesses borrowing the names of eligible users to purchase large quantities of goods and reselling them on open markets.

Article 15 of the current Military Welfare Basic Act stipulates that "users of welfare facilities such as military stores shall not resell products from military stores."

Military store products also carry a warning label: "Resale of military store products is prohibited, and violations may result in sanctions."

However, according to a regular audit report by the Board of Audit and Inspection released in February last year, the Defense Welfare Agency received a total of 156 complaints between January 2022 and April 2024 regarding resellers selling military store products on open markets.

It was also revealed that a reseller used the child of a veteran to purchase a massive amount of military store goods, including creams, worth 420,345,670 won between April 2022 and April 2024, and resold them to the public to reap huge unfair profits.

Resale for profit by active-duty soldiers and military civilian employees can be sanctioned under Article 64 of the State Public Officials Act and Article 30 of the Act on the Status and Service of Military Personnel.

However, since there are no separate regulations to punish civilians, the Defense Welfare Agency can only limit bulk purchases by internal users or revoke their eligibility upon detection based on internal regulations.

Meanwhile, the Defense Welfare Agency operates a reporting board for illegal resale, but all posts uploaded since November 20 last year are still in 'pending' status.

There are even posts asking, "Is this board still operating normally?"

In a written response to Yonhap News on the 24th, the Ministry of National Defense stated, "The Defense Welfare Agency is implementing measures to block the resale of military store products through complaint reception, self-monitoring, and the operation of a reporting site," adding, "When online resale is identified, we request each platform to stop sales through the Korea Online Shopping Association."

The ministry added, "We are working to fundamentally block resale activities, such as developing a system to check and control purchase quantities per individual," and "We are also pushing for legislation to establish grounds for restricting military store access and for prevention and enforcement against resale violators."

However, it noted, "The bill currently under review focuses on sanctions such as restricting military store access rather than criminal punishment."

Seo In-ho, a lawyer at the Defense and Military Group of the law firm Daeryun, pointed out, "The military is aware of the resale problem and has recently strengthened its response by adding 'Not for Resale' labels to some products and limiting purchase quantities," but added, "It is not easy to fundamentally block it, especially since the scope of eligible purchasers has expanded to include the parents of active-duty soldiers."

He continued, "If the seller does not disclose that the product is for military stores, consumer protection issues may arise," but added, "If there is no problem with the quality, it may not be easy to obtain relief simply because it was not disclosed."

Under these circumstances, an amendment to the Military Welfare Basic Act was proposed last November to strictly restrict the use of welfare facilities if the prohibition on the resale of military store products is violated, and to build and implement a regular monitoring system for the prevention and enforcement of resale.

Furthermore, last month, Gmarket and Auction announced regarding cases of illegal online distribution of military store-exclusive products that they would "immediately and permanently block the seller's ID account upon the second warning."

Professor Lee pointed out, "Platforms possess the most information to verify and filter out products sold at excessively low prices that have not gone through normal distribution channels," adding, "Platforms must also take responsibility for distribution management."

(Photo: Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.