'McDonald's Defective Patty' Former Supplier Employees Given Suspended Sentences

McDonald's

[Asia Economy Reporter Seongpil Cho] Former executives of a supplier company who were prosecuted for delivering defective hamburger patties to McDonald's Korea received suspended prison sentences in the first trial.

On the 26th, Judge Youngchae Jung of the Seoul Central District Court Criminal Division 11 sentenced Song, the managing director of beef patty supplier company M, who was charged with violating the Livestock Products Sanitation Control Act, to three years in prison with a four-year suspension. The factory manager and quality control team leader of the company were each sentenced to three years in prison with a four-year suspension and two years in prison with a four-year suspension, respectively. Under the joint penalty provision, company M was fined 40 million won.

The court pointed out, "The defendants knew that the patties posed pathogenic hygiene concerns but still sold them after refreezing," adding, "The harm caused to society at large is significant." It continued, "Children who actually consumed hamburgers made with the patties developed Escherichia coli infections, with some suffering severe distress," and criticized, "The fact that the defendants actively concealed the crime also reflects poorly on their character." However, the court noted, "Consideration was given to factors such as the absence of prior convictions for similar crimes."

Song and others were prosecuted for distributing 63 tons of beef patties that tested positive in kit tests for contamination with enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli. They were also charged with selling 2,160 tons of beef patties in which the Shiga toxin gene was detected through PCR (polymerase chain reaction) testing, a method that amplifies DNA. Shiga toxin is a toxic component produced by enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli.

The prosecution received complaints from consumers against McDonald's Korea and conducted an investigation but concluded in February 2018 that it could not prove a causal relationship between McDonald's hamburgers and the illnesses. Only the M company officials were prosecuted, and the investigation was closed. Consumers claimed they contracted hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS, also known as hamburger disease) after eating undercooked McDonald's hamburgers.

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