Distributor Arrested for Selling Chinese Red Pepper Powder as '100% Domestic'

Seoul Civil Affairs Police Unit Conducts Planned Investigation on Origin Violations During Kimjang Peak Season
Forged Origin Certification Stickers Used to Sell 530 Million Won Worth of Goods

[Asia Economy Reporter Jo In-kyung] A group that sold about 530 million KRW worth of relatively inexpensive Chinese red pepper powder online while falsely claiming it was domestically produced has been caught.

The Seoul Metropolitan Government's Civil Affairs Judicial Police Unit announced on the 19th that they arrested Mr. A (53), who received Chinese red pepper powder and falsely labeled the origin as "100% domestic" before distributing it through Naver Store.

Mr. A removed the origin stickers from the packaging of the Chinese red pepper powder with the intent to forge the origin, then attached separately produced stickers labeled "100% Domestic Red Pepper Powder" and sold it to consumers along with forged certificates of origin. The total amount of Chinese red pepper powder sold reached 35,291 kg (about 35 tons).

Mr. A also misled consumers by advertising on the online shopping mall with statements such as "HACCP certified 100% domestic red pepper powder, freshly harvested Korean red pepper powder purchased in 2020 from Uiseong, Gyeongbuk. Our company ranks 5th in sales of domestic red pepper powder supplied to school meals, government offices, and military." He used sticker removers to erase the original origin stickers without a trace and forged the domestic origin certificates by erasing and reprinting the company name, address, and date.

During a crackdown by the local district office, Mr. A violated the seizure order by arbitrarily selling all 291 kg of seized red pepper powder through the online shopping mall.

Mr. A, who falsely labeled the origin, faces up to seven years in prison or a fine of up to 100 million KRW under the Act on the Labeling of Origin of Agricultural and Fishery Products.

Due to the sharp rise in domestic red pepper powder prices caused by this year's prolonged rainy season and typhoons, Seoul City suspects there may be more cases of origin labeling violations using similar methods. They purchased about 20 types of red pepper powder sold as domestic on online shopping malls and requested testing from the National Agricultural Products Quality Management Service. Two products were determined to be foreign-made, and investigations are underway against the two companies that sold them.

Park Jae-yong, head of the Seoul Civil Affairs Judicial Police Unit, urged, "When purchasing agricultural products, please check the origin. If the origin is not indicated or seems suspicious, report it to the 120 Dasan Call Center, Seoul Civil Rights Crime Reporting Center, or the National Agricultural Products Quality Management Service."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.