Namyang Dairy Avoids Suspension of Sejong Factory Operations... "Humbly Accept, Apologize for Causing Concern"

Signboard at the entrance of Namyang Dairy Products headquarters on Dosan-daero, Gangnam-gu, Seoul.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Seung-jin] Namyang Dairy Products, which was fined over 800 million won for false advertising, apologized, saying, "We humbly accept this and apologize for causing concern."

According to the industry on the 6th, Namyang Dairy Products' Sejong plant was fined 828.6 million won by Sejong City for false advertising claims that its fermented milk product 'Bulgari' has a COVID-19 suppression effect.

Initially, the Sejong plant was preliminarily notified of a two-month business suspension. However, Sejong City ultimately decided to impose a fine on the Sejong plant considering the secondary damage to dairy farmers and partner companies. The fine was calculated by multiplying the maximum daily fine of 13.81 million won for companies with sales exceeding 40 billion won by the 60 days of business suspension.

Earlier in April, Namyang Dairy Products caused controversy by claiming that its fermented milk product 'Bulgari' has a COVID-19 suppression effect. In response, the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety requested administrative action from Sejong City, citing a possible violation of the Food Labeling and Advertising Act, and the city preliminarily notified a two-month business suspension.

When the preliminary notice of business suspension became known, petitions poured into the city from dairy farmers urging that Namyang Dairy Products' business suspension be avoided. They argued that if the daily produced raw milk is not delivered, it must be discarded, causing livelihood damage to self-employed transporters and agency owners who handle Namyang Dairy Products' products. The Sejong plant produces about 40% of Namyang Dairy Products' products.

Sejong City estimated that if the Namyang Dairy Products Sejong plant were to be suspended for two months, the losses to 201 raw milk supplying farms and logistics companies nationwide would reach 100 billion won, leading to the final decision to impose the fine.

Regarding this, a Namyang Dairy Products official said, "We humbly accept the local government's decision and sincerely apologize for causing concern to dairy farmers, agency owners, many customers, and related parties due to this incident," adding, "We will strive even harder to become a Namyang Dairy Products loved by our customers."

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