"Is It Right to Be Forced to Buy a 900,000-Won Keyring My 9-Year-Old Daughter Broke at a Luxury Store?" [What Do You Think?]

[The Financial News] A woman expressed her frustration after being required to pay hundreds of thousands of won for a keyring her young child accidentally broke while handling it at a duty-free luxury store.

On the 5th, JTBC's Case Chief featured the story of Ms. A, a woman in her 40s who had to pay for a keyring at an airport duty-free luxury store.
Ms. A explained, "Last week, my family and I went on an overseas trip to celebrate the New Year. Before departure, I entered a luxury store at the airport duty-free shop to buy myself a gift with the money I had saved up."
She visited the luxury store with her 9-year-old daughter. After selecting a wallet, Ms. A was registering as a member on the duty-free shop's website to receive a discount.
While Ms. A was busy, her daughter was handling a keyring displayed in the store. That was when the incident occurred.
Ms. A recalled, "An employee told my daughter not to touch the keyring. As soon as she let go, the leg of the keyring fell off. I was frozen in shock, and the startled employee immediately called the Manager."
The Manager remarked, "The leg of the keyring has completely come off." Ms. A responded, "It was already a bit loose. I'm sorry. What should I do?"
The Manager replied, "I'm sorry, but this item can no longer be sold. You'll need to purchase it."

Ms. A asked, "It's just a thread that came off. Can't this be fixed with after-sales service?" The Manager answered, "We can't process it that way. I'm sorry, but it's not that expensive. I'll help you with the 900,000 won payment. Would you like to purchase the wallet you chose as well?"
In the end, Ms. A reluctantly purchased the keyring before boarding her flight.
Ms. A admitted, "Of course, I acknowledge my child was at fault, but I still feel wronged by how the situation was handled. Isn't that keyring a display item that many others have touched before my daughter? Is it really right to pay the full price for it?"

Panelists who heard the story had mixed reactions.
Attorney Jiyoul Yang commented, "A keyring is meant to be carried around, not just kept at home as a display. Unless there was some specific action, if it broke just by being touched, there could be a defect in the product. The store should further prove that the damage was indeed caused by the child if they want to charge for it."
Psychology professor Sanghee Park remarked, "Even if the child broke it, charging the full price is inflexible. At local stores, if a child does this, the mother usually buys something else or gets a big discount."
She added, "Luxury goods are expensive because of the logo, but does the actual cost really reach 900,000 won? I think the store should have been more flexible."
On the other hand, attorney Park Ji-hoon stated, "While it needs to be reviewed, I don't think the Manager was being unreasonable. If you damage or break something, you are fundamentally responsible."
Netizens responded, "Of course you should buy it and use after-sales service," and "If you don't intend to buy, you shouldn't touch it."
newssu@fnnews.com Kim Soo-yeon Reporter