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There was a report that a large gym in Gangnam, Seoul suddenly closed and the CEO disappeared.

The gym was recruiting members right before the business was shut down, and the number of victims reached hundreds.



Reporter Shin Jeong-eun covered it.



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Mr. A, an office worker in his 20s, recently paid for a PT ticket for 10 times at a famous gym in Gangnam-gu, Seoul.



I received an absurd call from the trainer in charge the other day (25th).



[Health gym member A: He said that it would be difficult to digest the (exercise) schedule in the future...

.]



The gym that the reporters visited.



In a luxurious facility, exercise equipment and membership list are the same.



The golf driving range is also completely turned off.



There is a notice about the event that has been conducted until recently, but it is currently locked so that it cannot be entered like this.



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Members suffered as little as hundreds of thousands of won and as many as millions of won.



[Health gym member B: He said he would give you 3 million won for 50 reps.

We only did it 8 times together.

I said that I would extend the membership (membership) after calculating the amount, and I just dived.] I



was able to meet members who didn't even know English and came to exercise.



[Kim Tae-geun / Seocho-gu, Seoul: I couldn't even take out toiletries, sneakers, or clothes.]



The employees only received a text message from the CEO who disappeared the day before the business was closed.



[Health center employee C: If you lock the golf course door, our members can't take their bags.

So I just put it in the car and did it.

I know that you probably received members by Friday.]



When I checked whether the closure was reported, this gym was an illegal, unregistered company.



[Gangnam-gu Office Official: They said that they did not report the sports facility business to the ward office from the beginning.

So I can't report the closure.

(Then how did you do business?) It seems that they were doing business illegally.]



Thousands of requests for damage relief come in every year due to the 'eat-and-run' of these gym operators or representatives, but there is no way to prevent or solve them.



[Korea Consumer Agency official: If we can't contact the business, we can't proceed.

Because I don't have investigative powers or anything like that...

.]



[Hwang Hye-sun/Associate Professor of Consumer Studies, Sungkyunkwan University: From a consumer's point of view, it is not easy to anticipate all kinds of difficulties in sales and make payments and transactions...

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Police have also launched an investigation, with hundreds of victims known to be victims.



(Video coverage: Hyung Yoon, Video editing: Chunbae Park)