'Master Kimchi' Made from Rotten Cabbage and Radish? ... Mold and Larvae Found, Factory Hygiene Also 'Poor'

Kimchi Subsidiary Produces Kimchi with Spoiled Ingredients at Factory
Unsanitary Conditions Inside Factory... Mold and Larvae Eggs Found

A claim has been raised that a subsidiary of a well-known domestic kimchi company is producing kimchi using rotten napa cabbage and radishes at its kimchi factory.
Photo by MBC.

[Asia Economy Reporter Yoon Seul-gi] A whistleblower has revealed that a kimchi factory operated by a subsidiary of a domestic kimchi specialist company manufactures kimchi using cabbage and radishes in poor condition. This kimchi company has been established for over 30 years and has annual sales reaching 50 billion KRW. The kimchi produced here is sold domestically, supplied to meal service companies, and even exported overseas.

According to an MBC report on the 22nd, whistleblower A submitted footage showing the handling of cabbage and radishes at a kimchi factory in Jincheon, Chungbuk. The videos, recorded several times from October last year to January this year, show workers trimming cabbage and radishes that were discolored or moldy, while saying things like "It smells sour" and "I won’t eat this."

There are caterpillar eggs attached to the box storing the packaged kimchi./Photo by MBC capture.

In addition, hygiene issues at the factory were exposed. The boxes holding radishes for kkakdugi were covered with black grime and mold, and boxes storing packaged finished kimchi were infested with clusters of caterpillar eggs. Mold was also found in the flour paste stored in the refrigerator. Mold was visible in several places on the metal detector through which the kimchi passes.

The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety visited the kimchi factory that day and began an on-site investigation. Earlier, A had reported these conditions to the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission last month.

Through MBC, A stated, "It is so unethical to make food with these kinds of ingredients," adding, "This is kimchi advertised as 'Master Artisan of Korea'... It’s food that the public eats, but if I can’t eat it, how can I tell others to eat it?" explaining the reason for the report.

In response, the kimchi specialist company and its subsidiary apologized, acknowledging responsibility for management. A subsidiary official said, "It was wrong and regrettable that the quality of raw materials visibly fell below common standards," and explained, "All rotten or inedible parts were completely trimmed and discarded during the raw material preparation process, so they were not used in the finished kimchi products."

They added, "The total sales are about 55 billion KRW, and the factory in question accounts for about 5 billion KRW, less than 10%. We took immediate corrective actions, and the products from the three directly managed factories have separate raw material storage warehouses, so there are no issues."

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