Weverse Co. CEO Choi Joon-won (left) listens to Rep. Kang Yu-jung during the parliamentary audit on Monday in the National Assembly. (NATV)

Punishments for unfair consumer practices by K-pop merchandise producers are too light compared to their profits, a lawmaker argued in the National Assembly audit.

Rep. Kang Yu-jung of the main opposition Democratic Party said Monday that entertainment giant Hybe was fined only 3 million won ($2,200) for violating the rights of K-pop product consumers while earning over 1 trillion won over a period of three years from selling such products, raising questions over the punishments’ effectiveness.

Rep. Kang made the claim during a parliamentary audit session in the Culture, Sports and Tourism Committee, where CEO Choi Joon-won of Weverse Co., Hybe's global superfan platform, was quizzed by lawmakers.

Hybe, along with other three K-pop giants -- YG, SM and JYP -- was punished by the Fair Trade Commission for limiting or refusing to honor legally guaranteed refund requests for their products, incurring fines of 3 million won this year.

Unfair practices the companies were found to have engaged in included refusing refunds for products whose packaging was opened, and limiting refunds for defective products to within seven days of purchase. Under local laws, damaged or defective products are fully refundable for up to three months.

Choi said the practices were corrected as the watchdog embarked on an investigation into the case.

The fine was a paltry fraction of the total 1.207 trillion won in merchandise sales earned by the company from 2021 to the first half of 2024, Kang said.

Merchandise accounted for 19.5 percent of Hybe’s total revenue of 6.211 trillion won during that period.

The lawmaker called for stricter regulations against the unfair practices suffered by consumers of celebrity merchandise, saying weak punishments have allowed companies to continue taking advantage of fans’ love for K-pop artists.