Kimchi Soup Made from Leftover Kimchi Served to Guests...Massive Crackdown in Busan

Investigation of 225 Busan Restaurants, 11 Caught
Investigator Served Side Dishes They Were Eating to Other Customers

Restaurants in Busan were massively caught for illegal activities such as reusing leftover food from customers.

On the 8th, the Busan Special Judicial Police announced that they conducted a special planned investigation targeting 225 food service establishments and found a total of 11 violating businesses.

An investigator marking napa cabbage kimchi to check for leftover reuse (left) and the marked kimchi found in the restaurant kitchen's reuse container Photo by Busan Special Judicial Police Division

This operation, conducted day and night, focused on inspecting the secret reuse of leftover food in restaurants. In particular, the investigation was centered on Korean cuisine restaurants such as employee cafeterias, gukbap (soup with rice) restaurants, and set meal restaurants, where side dishes are relatively abundant and single-person meals are possible, making it likely that there would be many leftovers.

The violations included 8 establishments that reused leftover food, 2 establishments that disguised Chinese ingredients as domestic products, and 1 establishment that operated as a general restaurant without notification.

The reuse of leftover food mostly took place secretly within the kitchen.

Among the caught establishments, there was a place that reused leftover napa cabbage kimchi left by customers to prepare kimchi soup.

In some establishments, side dishes from one table were directly moved to another table.

It was even reported that one restaurant was caught trying to serve side dishes left over from an inspector’s meal to another customer’s table.

A restaurant collecting leftover napa cabbage kimchi, dongchimi, chili pepper pickles, young radish kimchi, etc., in separate containers for reuse purposes.
[Photo by Busan Metropolitan City]

Among the establishments caught in this crackdown, operators who reused leftover food left by customers will face up to 3 years in prison or a fine of up to 30 million won under the Food Sanitation Act, and operators who falsely labeled the origin of ingredients will be subject to up to 7 years in prison or a fine of up to 100 million won under the Act on the Labeling of Origin of Agricultural and Fishery Products.

A representative of the city’s special judicial police said, "We understand that recent price increases have made operations difficult, but reusing leftover food is an act that threatens the health and safety of citizens," adding, "We will continue to conduct guidance and crackdowns to foster a healthy dining culture."