Concerns Over Fukushima Contaminated Water... Half of Seafood Items Violating Origin Labeling Are 'Japanese'

Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries, Local Governments, and Coast Guard Conduct 3-Week Inspection of 12,538 Sites
165 Sites Unmarked or Falsely Marked...Up to 7 Years Imprisonment or 100 Million KRW Fine

A fisherman from Tongyeong-si, Gyeongsangnam-do, held the "Tongyeong Rally Condemning the Discharge of Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant Contaminated Water" on the sea in front of Yi Sun-sin Park in Jeongryang-dong, Tongyeong-si, on the 26th of last month, condemning the Japanese government. (Image source=Yonhap News)

[Sejong=Asia Economy Reporter Moon Chaeseok] As Japan plans to discharge radioactive contaminated water from the Fukushima nuclear power plant into the ocean, raising public anxiety, 165 businesses were caught by the government for improperly labeling the origin of seafood products. It was revealed that half of the detected items were of Japanese origin.

On the 26th, the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries announced that from the 22nd of last month to the 12th of this month, over a three-week period, a special inspection on seafood origin labeling was conducted in cooperation with local governments and the Coast Guard. Out of 12,538 businesses inspected, 165 were found to have violated the law.

Specifically, 123 businesses did not label the origin, and 42 businesses labeled it falsely. Among the 191 detected items, 47.7% were Japanese, 18.8% Chinese, and 5.2% Russian.

Among the 49 items with falsely labeled origin, 28 were Japanese, the highest number, followed by Russian (6) and Chinese (5). By product type, sea bream species accounted for 32.3%, followed by scallops (17.3%), pollock (6.3%), and octopus (4.2%).

The Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries plans to prosecute the 42 businesses that falsely labeled origin among the 165 caught this time. They face up to seven years imprisonment or fines up to 100 million KRW. The 123 businesses that did not label origin will be fined up to 10 million KRW depending on the violation amount.

The Ministry will strengthen the inspection of the distribution history of imported seafood. For seafood with many violations, they plan to conduct year-round focused crackdowns in cooperation with local governments and the Coast Guard. Additionally, through cooperation with consumer groups and public-private councils, they will actively encourage seafood import, distribution, and sales businesses to voluntarily comply with the system.

Kim Junseok, Director of Fisheries Policy at the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries, said, "Sellers should re-recognize that transparent origin labeling is the best way to gain consumer trust and sales, and it is important to create a structure where consumers can safely purchase seafood." He urged, "Please always check the origin labeling when purchasing seafood, and if suspicious, actively report violations of seafood origin labeling via the violation report phone or the KakaoTalk 'Seafood Origin Labeling' channel."

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