South Korea’s retail giant Shinsegae Group has launched an internal investigation after one of its employees at an E-Mart store was found to have intercepted gift vouchers that a K-pop idol had sent to his fans.
A Tuesday report by Busan Ilbo said Jaemin of NCT Dream sent fans 30 mobile gift vouchers worth 100,000 won ($67) each on March 14 as presents for White Day.
The vouchers were shared through the fan communication platform Bubble as images containing barcodes. These could then be exchanged for physical gift certificates at E-Mart stores.
Jaemin of NCT Dream (Jaemin’s instagram)
From early the next morning, fans went to E-Mart stores to claim their gift certificates, only to learn that all vouchers had already been redeemed before the stores opened at 10 a.m. It was later revealed that many of the vouchers had been redeemed at a specific branch.
As complaints spread online, Shinsegae Group, which operates department stores, duty-free stores, E-Mart and coffee franchise Starbucks, said it had begun an internal investigation.
E-Mart said it is currently examining the circumstances surrounding the redemptions and, depending on the findings, will take strict measures. The company added it will also introduce steps to prevent similar incidents from reoccurring.
milaya@heraldcorp.com