Representative of Company Selling Chinese Frozen Peppers as Domestic Arrested

Inspectors from the National Agricultural Products Quality Management Service are collecting samples at the violating business.

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters, Reporter Yoon Jamin] A red pepper powder processing company that sold frozen Chinese chili peppers disguised as domestic products has been caught.

The Jeonnam branch of the National Agricultural Products Quality Management Service (Director Hwang Gyukwang) announced on the 25th that it arrested A (47), the CEO of a red pepper powder processing company in Chungnam, who falsely labeled the origin of red pepper powder processed by mixing cheap frozen Chinese chili peppers and domestic dried chili peppers as "100% domestic dried chili peppers" and distributed it.

Three accomplices, including A's wife who participated in the crime, were sent to prosecution without detention.

A is accused of mixing 50% domestic dried chili peppers and 50% frozen Chinese chili peppers to process 414 tons (worth about 5.7 billion KRW) of red pepper powder from January 2019 to July last year, and selling it nationwide to food material companies, kimchi manufacturers, and online shopping malls under the false label of "100% domestic."

The supplied red pepper powder was confirmed to have been delivered to establishments such as hospitals and schools that use only domestic red pepper powder through food material companies.

The red pepper powder they supplied had a price difference of 3,000 KRW per kilogram compared to domestic products, and it was investigated that they gained an unfair profit of 1.2 billion KRW in total.

Additionally, in the main chili pepper producing area of Gyeongbuk, the family-operated company issued false transaction statements for domestic dried chili peppers, deposited the amount corresponding to the false transaction statements, and then withdrew it again, thereby inflating the transaction records of domestic dried chili peppers.

An official from the Jeonnam branch of the Agricultural Products Quality Management Service said, "We will continue to crack down on origin labeling of cheap Chinese baechu kimchi and seasoning ingredients such as red pepper powder, garlic, and onions used in kimchi," and added, "When purchasing agricultural products, please check the origin, and if the origin is not indicated or the indicated origin is suspicious, report it immediately."