◀ Again ▶
As Chinese online shopping platforms launch an offensive on ultra-low prices, consumer complaints are growing one after another.
Therefore, the Seoul Metropolitan Government has conducted safety tests on children’s products sold on these platforms.
As a result, harmful substances significantly higher than the standard were detected in half of the 22 tested.
This is the report of journalist Song Seo-young.
◀ Report ▶
Piles of shoe decorations, the so-called jibbitz.
The original products cost 5,000 to 6,000 won each, but AliExpress charges 1,000 won for 20 pieces.
You can also purchase a car sunshade with a character on it for around 1,000 won.
As Chinese shopping platforms such as Ali and Temu launched price offensives, the number of domestic users exceeded 17 million.
But dissatisfaction also increases.
Consumer injury consultations related to AliExpress nearly tripled, from 228 in 2022 to 673 last year.
[김경미/서울시 공정경제담당관]
“Especially in the case of Chinese platforms, quality complaints were found to be high, unlike other foreign platforms.”
Starting this month, the Seoul Metropolitan Government began weekly safety tests on products sold in Ali and Temu, selecting the most popular products.
Ahead of Children’s Day, 22 types of children’s products were selected for inspection.
As a result, 11 products, half of them, contained hazardous substances that far exceeded the standard.
In particular, phthalates, a harmful substance that causes sterility, were detected in 7 out of 16 shoe ornaments and umbrellas at levels over 300 times higher than standard levels.
Additionally, some had lead content greater than 33 times the standard.
The problem isn’t just the ingredients.
In Korea, such small parts must be made in such a way that they cannot be separated to avoid accidents of ingestion by children.
However, the objects captured this time were not like that.
There were also products whose parts could shatter even with a small force, which could result in a choking accident.
[안혜리/소비자공익네트워크 사무국장]
“When purchasing baby products through Ali and Temu, we believe it would be appropriate to carefully check the certification and not purchase extremely cheap products that are outside the scope of normal transactions.”
Seoul plans to regularly disclose information such as items to be inspected, sales locations, and dangerous substances detected on the Seoul City website.
Additionally, we decided to expand the scope of testing to various overseas platforms, including Ali and Temu.
I’m Song Seo-young from MBC News.
Video coverage: Kwan-ho Lee / Video editing: Kwan-sun Kim / Photo provided by: Seoul City Hall
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