Upon investigation, Shinsegae Group has confirmed the allegations that an employee stole multiple gift certificates that NCT’s Jaemin had purchased as gifts for his fans.
On the evening of March 14 KST, Jaemin surprised his fans with a special and generous gift for White Day. The idol sent his fans 30 Shinsegae gift certificates, each worth 100,000 won (approximately $67), via the fan messaging platform Bubble. The total value of the gift certificates, which were valid exclusively at Emart, added up to 3 million won (approximately $2,021).
In order to redeem the gift certificates, fans arrived early at Emart stores the following morning and lined up before opening hours. However, it soon came to light that most of the gift certificates had already been redeemed at an Emart location in Gumi before the store’s official opening time of 10 a.m.
Fans who had gone to the Emart stores in person shared their stories on social media, with many speculating that all of the gift certificates had been redeemed by a single person at the Gumi location. Additionally, because they had all been redeemed prior to the store’s official opening time, some began raising suspicions that a store employee had stolen them.
As rumors began swirling online that an employee responsible for the misappropriation had been fired, Shinsegae Group initially made a brief statement on March 16 to address the situation. At the time, the company apologized for the inconvenience to its customers and stated, “We are currently in the process of conducting an internal investigation regarding the circumstances surrounding this incident.” Shinsegae Group also clarified that “it is not true that an employee has been fired,” explaining that they were still in the midst of investigating what had happened.
On March 17, Shinsegae Group provided an update on its investigation, stating, “So far, we have confirmed it is true that an employee at the Gumi store preemptively redeemed nine of the 100,000 won gift certificates.” They added, “We are still in the process of investigating the details of the incident.”
“We apologize for inconveniencing the customers who use Emart,” continued the company. “Based on the results of our investigation, we will take disciplinary action in accordance with company standards and principles, and we will strengthen our management protocols regarding gift certificate issuance and redemption in order to prevent such an incident from reoccurring.”
Meanwhile, back on March 15, Jaemin responded to the unfortunate news by gifting his fans with 10 additional gift certificates worth 100,000 won each.
Watch Jaemin in NCT DREAM’s film “NCT DREAM THE MOVIE : In A Dream” below:
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