Hanseong Enterprise Caught in Kimchi Controversy Like Hanseok Foods
Hanseong Enterprise "Two Companies Completely Unrelated... Never Produced Kimchi"
[Asia Economy Reporter Song Seung-yoon] Hanseong Food's subsidiary has sparked controversy for manufacturing kimchi with defective ingredients, and the company with a similar name, 'Hanseong Enterprise,' has been caught in the crossfire. Hanseong Enterprise posted a notice clarifying that "the two companies are completely unrelated."
Through a notice on its official website, Hanseong Enterprise stated, "Hanseong Food Co., Ltd.'s kimchi products and Hanseong Enterprise, which specializes in producing Kkuraemi and premium crab sticks, are entirely unrelated companies."
They continued, "Due to the identical company names, there has been a misunderstanding that the companies are the same, causing serious damage. Hanseong Enterprise will respond to customers' trust with clean and honest ingredients and methods," they explained.
Hanseong Enterprise is a comprehensive food company focusing on seafood products and has never produced kimchi until now.
Earlier, after a video showing workers at a kimchi factory operated by Hanseong Food's subsidiary handling discolored napa cabbage and moldy radishes was released through the media, the company issued an official apology and halted operations at the problematic factory as well as all manufacturing plants. In particular, controversy escalated uncontrollably because CEO Kim Soon-ja was designated as Traditional Artisan No. 29 and Kimchi Artisan No. 1 by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs in 2007, and she had promoted this background. Inquiries flooded the home shopping companies that sold the kimchi, leading them to consecutively suspend sales and promise refunds.
Hanseong Food, through an apology statement under CEO Kim's name, said, "We sincerely apologize to consumers for the hygiene issues related to the kimchi manufacturing by our subsidiary 'Hyowon,' reported on the 22nd," adding, "Regardless of legal actions, we have immediately closed the factory in question and begun investigating the cause," and "We have also temporarily suspended operations at our directly managed factories in Seosan, Busan, and Jeongseon."
They further explained, "We will promptly conduct thorough internal inspections and precise external expert evaluations to ensure there is no suspicion or shame," and "We are determined to permanently close the factory if necessary and will reorganize the entire hygiene and quality control system."
The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs has begun an on-site investigation of Hanseong Food's factories to verify product suitability and related suspicions.
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