12 Restaurants Near Spring Flower Festival Venues Caught Violating Country-of-Origin Labeling
American Pork Used Despite "Domestic Pork" Claims on Delivery Apps
Chinese Cabbage Kimchi Falsely Labeled as Domestic
The Seoul Metropolitan Government’s Civil Affairs Investigation Bureau (hereinafter referred to as the “Civil Affairs Bureau”) announced on April 20 that it conducted a special crackdown on country-of-origin labeling at 35 restaurants near spring flower festival venues in Seoul, and found violations at 12 of them.
Kimchi Jjigae
The Civil Affairs Bureau selected restaurants famous for their cuisine near festival venues as targets for inspection, taking into account that visitors from across the country flock to Seoul during the spring flower festival season. First, a preliminary investigation was conducted to check the appropriateness of country-of-origin labeling, after which 35 suspicious establishments were selected. Then, on April 3, the Civil Affairs Bureau conducted on-site inspections together with the Seoul office of the Gyeonggi Branch of the National Agricultural Products Quality Management Service (hereinafter referred to as the “NAQS”).
As a result, a total of 12 establishments were found in violation: 6 for false country-of-origin labeling, 1 for confusing labeling, and 5 for failure to display country of origin.
Major violations included: Establishment A falsely labeled Chinese cabbage kimchi served with sundae-guk as domestically produced when it was actually imported from China. Establishment B used American pork in its kimchi jjigae, but advertised on delivery apps that it used “only domestically produced fresh pork from Nonghyup.”
Establishment C, which is popular on social networking services (SNS), used American beef in its steak but failed to indicate the country of origin anywhere on the menu or within the restaurant. Of the 12 establishments caught, those with false or confusing country-of-origin labeling were subject to criminal charges by the Civil Affairs Bureau. In addition, the NAQS plans to impose fines on establishments that failed to display the country of origin.
According to the Act on Labeling and Advertising of Foods, if a restaurant falsely labels or provides potentially confusing information about the country of origin of agricultural or fishery products, it may face up to seven years in prison or a fine of up to 100 million won. Failure to display the country of origin may result in a fine of up to 10 million won.
The Seoul Metropolitan Government urged citizens who discover illegal acts such as false country-of-origin labeling at restaurants, or who have suffered damages, to actively report or provide information through the Seoul Smart Complaint App or the Seoul Metropolitan Government’s Response Center. Citizens who provide decisive evidence may receive a reward of up to 200 million won, following deliberation in accordance with relevant ordinances. Kang Heeun, Acting Director of the Civil Affairs Bureau, stated, “We will strengthen crackdowns to ensure accurate country-of-origin information, prevent consumer harm, and establish a sound distribution order.”
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