3115 Cases of Agricultural Product Origin Labeling Violations Detected... Six Out of Ten Are 'Chinese Origin'

NAQS Announces Results of Crackdown on Companies Violating Origin Labeling

[Sejong=Asia Economy Reporter Moon Chaeseok] The National Agricultural Products Quality Management Service announced on the 19th that it had caught 3,115 companies last year for violating origin labeling, such as falsely labeling the origin of agricultural products. This is a 4.9% increase compared to the previous year (2,969 companies).

The agency monitored the distribution status, including imports and price trends of agricultural products, in advance and conducted on-site inspections focusing on companies suspected of violating origin labeling.

By industry, the detected companies were mostly general restaurants (45.6%), processing companies (18.6%), and meat sales companies (7.8%). The products with origin labeling violations were mainly napa cabbage kimchi (19.7%), pork (17.3%), and beef (9.3%). Notably, 58.8% of the origin labeling violations involved selling Chinese products as domestic products.

The agency stated that 1,634 companies that falsely labeled the origin have already been criminally charged and will face subsequent procedures such as prosecution, with penalties including imprisonment of up to seven years or fines up to 100 million won. For 1,481 companies that did not label the origin, fines totaling 431 million won were imposed.

Since the management of distribution records for imported agricultural products was transferred from the Korea Customs Service to the National Agricultural Products Quality Management Service this year, the agency explained that it will strengthen origin management of imported agricultural products and processed foods. Lee Joo-myung, head of the agency, said, "This year, we plan to enhance the efficiency of origin inspections for agricultural products by strengthening online sales management and managing the traceability of imported agricultural products in response to the increase in non-face-to-face agricultural product transactions and imports."