209 False Labels and 234 Unlabeled Locations
Criminal Penalties Including Up to 7 Years Imprisonment for False Labeling Companies
Fines Up to 10 Million Won for Unlabeled Companies
[Sejong=Asia Economy Reporter Moon Chaeseok] The government has caught 443 businesses that falsified or improperly labeled the origin of agricultural and livestock products during the Lunar New Year holiday peak season.
The National Agricultural Products Quality Management Service (NAQS) announced on the 21st that it had identified 443 businesses violating origin labeling regulations for Lunar New Year ritual items and gift sets. This is a 31% decrease from 642 businesses last year.
By product category, violations were most frequent in pork with 88 cases (17.5%), beef with 67 cases (13.4%), napa cabbage kimchi with 63 cases (12.6%), tofu products with 33 cases (6.6%), and rice cakes with 23 cases (4.6%).
By business type, restaurants (general and cafes) accounted for 146 cases (32.9%), processing companies 94 cases (21.2%), meat retailers 60 cases (13.5%), and online sales businesses 27 cases (6.1%).
A meat shop in Ulsan was caught after mixing 233.26 kg of U.S. galbisal (short ribs) with Korean beef and falsely selling it as domestic Korean beef, earning 28 million KRW.
A restaurant in Jeonju, Jeollabuk-do, prepared and sold food using U.S. beef without labeling the origin.
Falsely labeling or failing to label the origin in this way results in criminal penalties or fines under the Agricultural and Fishery Products Origin Management Act.
Among the 209 businesses with false labeling, after further investigation, they will be referred to the prosecution and face criminal penalties. They may face imprisonment of up to seven years or fines up to 100 million KRW. The 234 businesses that failed to label will be fined up to 10 million KRW.
Meanwhile, NAQS announced that it offers rewards ranging from 50,000 KRW to 10 million KRW to those who report cases of origin labeling fraud.
An NAQS official urged consumers, "When purchasing agricultural products at marts, traditional markets, or online, please be sure to check the origin. If there is no label or if you suspect a violation, please report it by phone or through the NAQS website."
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