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| According to CJ, instant noodles, canned products and bottled water are the three most-sold emergency supplies after the coronavirus pandemic. / gettyimagesbank |
By Kang Hyun-kyung
President Moon Jae-in's complimentary remarks about the absence of panic buying in Korea turned out to be premature.
Although toilet paper and other emergency supplies were still packed in supermarkets after the coronavirus pandemic began, CJ Logistics said there has been panic buying online, albeit only briefly.
It said panicked Koreans flocked to shop online to purchase emergency supplies in the last week of February, shortly after the 31st coronavirus patient became a super spreader and led to a surge of confirmed cases.
CJ's analysis is based on 198 million online forms their delivery workers had completed between February and March.
According to CJ, instant noodles, canned products and bottled water are the three most-sold emergency supplies during that time. The sales of canned food tripled in the fourth week of February, compared to the week before. Deliveries of instant noodles and bottled water more than doubled week-on-week.
Koreans' panic buying, however, slowed down the next week, although there were some minor increases in daily commodities such as coffee machines, milk bubblers and other electronic devices needed for cooking.
"We've received a drastic surge of orders from the weekend of the third week of February but panic buying didn't last long, maybe because our customers realized products they ordered were delivered in time without delays," an unnamed insider of CJ said. "Since then, there was no panic buying and deliveries of emergency supplies are getting back to normal. But there was a minor increase in daily products."
CJ's data showed that in Korea, panic buying occurred online although it didn't continue for many days. Compared to other countries, people purchased more food and water than they needed but toilet paper was not on the list.
Delivery workers' efficient services also played a part to relieve and prevent consumer panic.
The data was revealed weeks after President Moon praised his government and Korean consumers for their maturity in the "absence of panic buying."
On March 22, an unnamed Cheong Wa Dae official quoted Moon as having appreciated fellow Koreans for their maturity after the coronavirus outbreak.
Moon said Korea is the only country where panic buying didn't occur, noting the government needs to make sure citizens are in a safe environment during crises like the coronavirus pandemic. Then he thanked Koreans for showing their unwavering support for the government without panicking during the pandemic. His remarks drew cynicism from some internet users.
