Seoul City Cracks Down on Imported Beef Disguised as Hanwoo Ahead of Lunar New Year

Intensive Crackdown on Consumer Harm Crimes Such as False Origin Labeling and High-Interest Charges

The Seoul Metropolitan Government's Civil Affairs Judicial Police Unit will launch an intensive crackdown on illegal activities such as false origin labeling targeting traditional markets and online shopping malls starting at the end of this month ahead of the Lunar New Year holiday.

According to Seoul City on the 23rd, this investigation is being conducted to prevent livelihood-related crimes that increase during the holiday peak season, such as false or missing origin labeling of ritual food items and high-interest rate lending practices.

The Civil Affairs Unit will first focus on cracking down on violations related to origin labeling of Korean beef, pork, seafood, and other products sold in traditional markets and online, which are crowded during the holiday period, until the 8th of next month.

The main targets of the crackdown are false origin labeling or violations of labeling methods for livestock and seafood products. Even if the labeling itself is not violated, displaying imported products in a way that misleads consumers into thinking they are domestic products will also be subject to investigation.

The Civil Affairs Unit plans to strictly investigate cases where imported beef is labeled as ‘Hanwoo’ or imported pork is labeled as ‘domestic’ and sold as such.

Additionally, anticipating a surge in illegal activities such as ‘ultra-short-term high-interest daily loans’ targeting market vendors ahead of the Lunar New Year, the unit will conduct focused investigations around traditional markets until the end of next month.

The main investigation targets include ▲ charging interest rates exceeding the legal limit (20%) on small loans ranging from 1 million to 3 million KRW ▲ deducting loan interest upfront before disbursing the loan amount ▲ indiscriminate distribution of flyers by unregistered businesses.

Seoul City has assigned and stationed investigators responsible for each traditional market to receive reports of illegal private financing damages, and will initiate investigations if any suspicions arise. For cases warranting fines or business suspension, the city will notify the relevant district offices to take administrative actions.

Since citizen reports are crucial for investigating illegal activities, the city urged anyone who discovers related crimes or suffers damages to actively report and provide information. Any Seoul citizen can report via smartphone apps or the Seoul City website. Informants who provide decisive evidence may receive rewards of up to 200 million KRW after review, according to the ‘Seoul Metropolitan Government Ordinance on Protection and Support for Public Interest Whistleblowers.’

Seo Young-gwan, head of the Seoul Civil Affairs Judicial Police Unit, stated, "We will do our best to crack down on illegal activities that exploit the holiday season during these difficult times of high interest rates and inflation so that such acts do not become rampant."