Muan Police Arrest 13 People for Disguising Chinese Salt as 천일염 (Sun-Dried Salt) and Distributing It

The Mu Police are cracking down on the site of coarse salt bag replacement. Photo by Asia Economy

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Seo Young-seo] Thirteen people, including the couple who run a salt wholesale business, were caught by the police for making a profit of 120 million won by disguising Chinese salt as Sinan solar salt.

According to Muan Police on the 20th, 13 people including Mr. A, a salt wholesaler in his 50s who purchased Chinese salt and then repackaged and distributed it as Sinan solar salt, are under investigation for violating the Act on the Labeling of Agricultural Products Origin for Agricultural and Fishery Products.

Since October last year until recently, they have been purchasing 260 tons of Chinese salt and repackaging it as Sinan solar salt in an empty warehouse within the agricultural and industrial complex, a practice known as ‘podae-gari’ (bag switching).

Among this, they distributed 116 tons of Chinese salt and are suspected of pocketing a profit of about 120 million won.

Earlier, the police received a tip-off from village residents at the beginning of this year that the distribution company was engaging in podaegari, conducted an internal investigation, and recently caught the crime scene.

On the 19th, the police applied for arrest warrants against them, and the pre-arrest suspect interrogation (warrant hearing) will be held at the Mokpo branch of the Gwangju District Court on the same day.

Yoon Hu-ui, chief of Muan Police Station, said, “Deceiving the origin of food is a serious betrayal of the public’s trust,” and added, “We will continue to conduct crackdowns to ensure food safety for the public ahead of the kimchi-making season.”

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