Gang Arrested for Selling Expired Hwangtae Disguised as 'Sunjil Meoktae'

Sacheon Coast Guard is inspecting the processed dried pollack evidence.

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Lee Seryeong] A group involved in reprocessing expired Russian processed dried pollack into processed dried pollack and distributing, selling, and storing it to wholesale and retail businesses has been arrested by the police.

The Sacheon Maritime Police in Gyeongnam announced on the 27th that five people, including 43-year-old Mr. A, have been booked on charges of violating the Food Sanitation Act, and that an arrest warrant was issued for one person on the 15th.

It was added that two of them were confirmed to have jointly operated import, processing, and distribution businesses.

According to Sacheon Maritime Police, they repeatedly sent about 15 tons of expired Russian processed dried pollack, which should have been discarded and was stored in a frozen warehouse in Busan, to distribution companies, with a total market value reaching 280 million KRW.

The maritime police found that the group sold the discarded dried pollack to wholesale and retail businesses after heat treatment and repackaging, removing Korean label stickers indicating the expiration date, and that about 40 tons of dried pollack worth approximately 600 million KRW were still stored in the frozen warehouse.

The maritime police explained that they received a tip-off about expired dried pollack being distributed and began an investigation.

As a result of the investigation, it was presumed that due to a sharp decline in the consumption of Russian dried pollack over the past two years and poor sales, expired processed dried pollack stock accumulated, and the perpetrators committed this crime to resolve difficulties such as company operating funds circulation.

A maritime police official said, “Crimes seeking unfair profits through food and other means are expected to increase,” and added, “We plan to strengthen crackdowns targeting distribution networks and seafood sellers.”

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