Namyang Dairy Sejong Factory Receives '2-Month Business Suspension' Administrative Sanction

[Asia Economy (Sejong) Reporter Jeong Il-woong] Namyang Dairy Products' Sejong factory has been given a prior notice of administrative suspension. The suspension of the Sejong factory will be finalized after the company’s submission period for opinions.

On the 19th, Sejong City announced that it had given Namyang Dairy Products' Sejong factory a prior notice of a two-month business suspension for violating the Food Labeling and Advertising Act.

Earlier, the city received a request for administrative action from the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety regarding Namyang Dairy Products' Sejong factory. This was due to concerns that the content presented at Namyang Dairy Products' symposium titled ‘Development of Antiviral Foods in the COVID-19 Era’ held on the 13th might violate the Food Labeling and Advertising Act.

At that time, Namyang Dairy Products announced that its product, Bulgari, was confirmed to have antiviral effects against COVID-19.

However, the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety judged that this announcement was made not for purely academic purposes but for product promotion, which could violate the Food Labeling and Advertising Act, and thus requested administrative action.

Accordingly, on the 16th, the city gave Namyang Dairy Products a prior notice of business suspension for the Sejong factory. The final decision will be made after reviewing the opinions submitted by Namyang Dairy Products.

Namyang Dairy Products' Sejong factory is known to have a larger sales proportion compared to other regional factories, and the city explained that a two-month business suspension is the heaviest penalty imposed for violations of the Food Labeling and Advertising Act.

Meanwhile, Article 8 of the Food Labeling and Advertising Act prohibits “labels or advertisements that may be perceived as having efficacy in preventing or treating diseases,” and states that violators may face administrative suspension of business for two months, imprisonment of up to 10 years, or fines of up to 100 million won.

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