50-Year-Old Sentenced to Probation for Smuggling 4 Tons of Endangered Whale Meat into Japan

Smuggling 4,640kg of Wheat over 24 Times
Recruiting Transporters for 300,000 Won per Group

A woman in her 50s who smuggled over 4 tons of endangered whale meat was sentenced to prison with a suspended sentence.

On the 17th, Judge Jeong Sun-yeol of the Criminal Division 11 at Busan District Court announced that A, who was tried for violating the Wildlife Protection and Management Act, was sentenced to 2 years in prison with a 3-year probation. A, who was detained during the investigation phase for the smuggling crime and held in a detention center for about three months, was released following the suspended sentence.

Minke whale. [Photo by Yonhap News]

From June 2023 to April this year, A purchased processed whale meat products in Osaka, Japan, and other locations, then divided them into 30 kg portions per person in bags with acquaintances and brought them into the country as checked baggage. This smuggling was repeated 24 times, totaling a staggering 4,640 kg of whale meat. During this process, A also recruited carriers for 300,000 KRW per person. The imported whale meat was either transferred to acquaintances or stored in refrigerators for sale.

Judge Jeong stated, "The smuggling, transfer, and storage of internationally endangered whale meat for the purpose of sale involved a significant quantity and numerous offenses, making the culpability severe," but added, "Considering that the whale meat is a food product distributed in Japan and not illegally caught, and that the defendant was detained for three months," explaining the sentencing rationale.

The international community has banned commercial whaling of 12 endangered whale species since 1986, and the South Korean government has legally prohibited all whaling since 1986. If whales are caught, the related law stipulates imprisonment of up to 3 years or a fine of up to 30 million KRW. Whale meat distributed in the market comes from bycatch caught accidentally in nets, stranded, or drifting whales. Illegal whale catches are also prohibited by law from being auctioned after investigation.

Whale Meat Vending Machines Appear in Japan Despite International Criticism

Despite numerous criticisms from the international community, Japan, which continues to allow commercial whaling, has recently started selling whale meat through vending machines in urban areas.

In December 2018, the Japanese government officially withdrew from the International Whaling Commission (IWC) in response to domestic stakeholders' demands and resumed commercial whaling. Since then, Japan has continued whaling despite international criticism. In 2020, the government provided subsidies amounting to approximately 61.1 billion KRW to the whaling industry. Environmental and animal protection groups condemned Japan's whale meat vending machines as a "desperate sales tactic of a declining whaling industry."

Whaling is conducted by shooting whales with harpoons attached to grenades. Animal protection groups have criticized this method as extremely cruel because the time it takes for whales to die is long and painful. Some scenes in the movie "Avatar: The Way of Water" criticized whaling, which led to calls for a boycott of "Avatar: The Way of Water" within Japan.