Trusted as Domestic... Famous Hanwoo Gomtang Restaurant Mixed Imported Beef for 6 Years

Court Sentences 10 Months Imprisonment for Violation of Origin Labeling Law
Number of Companies Caught Last Year Reaches 3,115, a 4.9% Increase from 2020

[Asia Economy Reporter Hwang Sumi] The owner of a famous gomtang restaurant who sold imported beef as domestic Korean beef (Hanwoo) for about six years has been sentenced to a suspended prison term.

On the 28th, the Gwangju District Court Criminal Division 1 (Presiding Judge Kim Hyejin) announced that Mr. A, who was tried for violating the Act on the Labeling of Origin of Agricultural and Fishery Products, was sentenced to 10 months in prison with a two-year suspension. He was also ordered to perform 120 hours of community service.

Mr. A, who operates a gomtang restaurant in Jeonnam, was indicted for falsely labeling the origin of the beef used in gomtang from June 2016 to April of this year.

He mixed a total of 5.8 tons of Australian and American beef worth approximately 660 million KRW with domestic Hanwoo. However, both the menu and the origin labeling board indicated that only domestic Hanwoo was used. Despite using imported beef, which is about half the price of domestic beef, he falsely labeled the origin as domestic.

The court stated, "Mr. A committed the crime for nearly six years and is believed to have gained considerable profit from it," but also considered "that Mr. A is a first-time offender who is reflecting on his crime, returned the Australian beef after the crime was detected, and pledged not to reoffend," as reasons for the sentencing.

According to the Act on the Labeling of Origin of Agricultural and Fishery Products, companies that falsely label the origin may face up to seven years in prison or a fine of up to 100 million KRW after criminal investigation and judicial procedures. Companies that fail to label the origin may be fined up to 10 million KRW.

However, as companies violating origin labeling are steadily being caught every year, there are calls to strengthen sanctions against such acts. According to the National Agricultural Products Quality Management Service, 3,115 companies were caught last year for falsely labeling origin, a 4.9% increase compared to 2,969 companies in 2020. Meanwhile, the ratio of fines to violation amounts has been decreasing annually: 4.97% in 2019, 2.67% in 2020, 1.55% in 2021, and 0.03% this year.

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