Gyeonggi Special Judicial Police to Intensively Inspect Seasonal Foods for Lunar New Year: 360 Locations Targeted from February 2 to 13

Gyeonggi Province is launching a crackdown on the illegal distribution of seasonal foods ahead of the Lunar New Year holiday.

The Gyeonggi Provincial Special Judicial Police Unit announced on January 15 that it will conduct intensive inspections of 360 locations across the province, including food manufacturing and processing businesses as well as medium and large supermarkets, from February 2 to 13. The goal is to ensure the safety of foods commonly given as gifts or used for ancestral rites during the holiday season.

This investigation will focus on items that are in high demand during the holiday, such as rice cakes, dumplings, tofu, traditional Korean sweets, and livestock products. The main areas of inspection include: ▲ violations of country-of-origin labeling ▲ violations of standards and specifications ▲ violations of expiration dates ▲ violations of self-quality inspection requirements ▲ violations of food labeling standards, among others.

Under the current Country of Origin Labeling Act, false or misleading labeling of food products can result in imprisonment for up to seven years or a fine of up to 100 million won. The Livestock Products Sanitary Control Act stipulates that storing or selling refrigerated products as frozen can lead to imprisonment for up to three years or a fine of up to 30 million won.

Poster Announcing Intensive Investigation of Illegal Activities Related to Lunar New Year Seasonal Food Products by Gyeonggi Province Special Judicial Police Unit

Additionally, the Food Sanitation Act mandates imprisonment for up to three years or a fine of up to 30 million won for storing products past their expiration date or failing to conduct self-quality inspections. The Food Labeling and Advertising Act imposes the same penalties for failing to indicate product name, net weight, ingredient names, business name and address, or manufacturing date.

Ki Ido, Head of the Gyeonggi Provincial Special Judicial Police Unit, stated, "Ahead of the Lunar New Year holiday, we will conduct thorough crackdowns so that residents can purchase food with confidence. We will dedicate all our resources to tracking and blocking illegal food-related activities from distribution to sales in order to protect the health of our residents."

The Special Judicial Police Unit also plans to provide business operators with information leaflets detailing types of illegal activities at inspection sites, helping them to self-check for violations and operate in compliance with the law.