Gyeonggi Special Judicial Police to Intensively Investigate Illegal Activities at Agricultural Product Processing Businesses

Gyeonggi Province will investigate illegal activities among agricultural product processing and sales businesses that handle rice and grains.

The Gyeonggi Province Special Judicial Police Unit announced on July 16 that from August 4 to 22, it will investigate agricultural product processing and sales businesses in the province that handle rice and grains for the following violations: ▲ false or misleading country-of-origin labeling ▲ misuse of government-managed rice beyond its designated purpose ▲ violations of business operator compliance requirements ▲ unreported business operations.

Under the current Country of Origin Labeling Act, anyone who falsely or misleadingly labels imported agricultural products as domestic is subject to imprisonment for up to seven years or a fine of up to 100 million won. In addition, the Grain Management Act stipulates that purchasing government-managed rice for processing purposes and then using it for other, non-processing purposes is punishable by up to three years in prison or a fine of up to five times the market value of the rice.

Poster for Crackdown on Illegal Activities in Processing and Selling Agricultural Products such as Rice and Grains by Gyeonggi Province Special Judicial Police Unit

Furthermore, the Food Sanitation Act stipulates that violations of business operator compliance requirements, such as selling products past their expiration date or failing to prepare required business documents, are punishable by up to three years in prison or a fine of up to 30 million won. Manufacturing or processing food without reporting, or failing to report changes to business facilities or operations, is punishable by up to five years in prison or a fine of up to 50 million won.

Ki Ido, head of the Gyeonggi Province Special Judicial Police Unit, said, "As desserts made with grains such as rice and other grains become more popular, we have decided to conduct a focused investigation into businesses that process and sell these products. We plan to strictly enforce the relevant laws and impose strong penalties for illegal activities that could threaten the food safety of residents."