Fixed-store operators at Gwangjang Market to sue stall vendors amid overcharging controversy

Merchants operating fixed storefronts in Gwangjang Market, central Seoul, plan to sue the vendors operating stalls in the adjacent traditional market zone, arguing that a recent overcharging controversy drove customers away.

The picture shows Gwangjang Market in central Seoul. [JOONGANG ILBO]

Merchants operating fixed storefronts in Gwangjang Market, central Seoul, plan to sue the vendors operating stalls in the adjacent traditional market zone, arguing that a recent overcharging controversy drove customers away and caused significant business losses.

The Gwangjang Market Merchants’ Association was quoted as saying by Yonhap News Agency on Sunday that it will file a damages suit of about 300 million won ($203,000) against the Gwangjang Traditional Market Street Vendors’ Association (translated). The fixed storefront owners calculated the amount as their collective financial loss due to the incident.

The Gwangjang Market Merchants’ Association gathered signatures from more than 200 members and sent a formal notice to the Gwangjang Traditional Market Street Vendors’ Association on Nov. 13. The Gwangjang Traditional Market Street Vendors’ Association has yet to respond.

Gwangjang Market is split into two zones that use similar names.The fixed-store section, known as Gwangjang Market, centers on a three-floor building completed in 1956 and stretches to the west entrance. About 200 storefronts selling food, apparel, bedding and traditional crafts belong to the Gwangjang Market Merchants’ Association.

The street-vendor zone, known as Gwangjang Traditional Market, runs stalls from the food alley to the east gate. Roughly 250 stalls belong to the Gwangjang Traditional Market Street Vendors’ Association.

The overcharging controversy escalated after a popular YouTuber said she ordered sundae (Korean blood sausage) priced at 8,000 won but was told to pay 10,000 won. The Gwangjang Traditional Market Street Vendors’ Association issued a 10-day suspension to the vendor involved. The fixed-store merchants argued that such incidents have driven customers away.

“Because the names are similar, we’ve received a flood of complaint calls to our office, and we feel deeply aggrieved,” a Gwangjang Market Merchants’ Association official told Yonhap News Agency.

A Gwangjang Traditional Market Street Vendors’ Association representative pushed back.

“If they proceed with a lawsuit, we will respond accordingly,” a representative said.

A Jongno District official said the district met both association heads on Thursday but "has not intervened because the case has not entered litigation."

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom. BY HYEON YE-SEUL [paik.jihwan@joongang.co.kr]