Gyeongnam Provincial Special Judicial Police Crack Down on Fake Oil Sales with Sharp Vigilance

Illegal Petroleum Distribution Crackdown Conducted

The Special Judicial Police of Gyeongsangnam-do will launch a planned crackdown for four months starting in March to proactively block the distribution of illegal petroleum such as counterfeit oil.

On the 27th, the Gyeongnam Special Judicial Police announced that they will focus on cracking down on petroleum distribution order violations targeting petroleum sales businesses such as gas stations in the province, including ▲sale and distribution of counterfeit petroleum ▲undocumented transactions of petroleum products ▲dumping sales ▲hoarding.

According to the Special Judicial Police, this crackdown will be jointly conducted with the Korea Petroleum Management Service to enhance the efficiency of investigative activities and maximize the crackdown effect.

If necessary, cooperation with city and county offices and the relevant tax offices will also be arranged.

Gyeongsangnam-do explained that from this year, the scope of duties of the Special Judicial Police has been expanded to include four additional fields: door-to-door sales, petroleum, automobile management, and tourism, responding to a total of 15 fields of community-based crimes.

Gyeongnam Provincial Government Office.
Photo by Lee Seryeong

According to the province, counterfeit petroleum is manufactured by mixing kerosene, petrochemical products, etc., into normal petroleum products for the purpose of use or intended use as fuel for vehicles or machinery.

Using counterfeit petroleum damages major parts of the vehicle’s engine or exhaust system, threatening not only economic loss but also the safety of the driver.

The Korea Petroleum Management Service, entrusted with some authority by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, manages and supervises the entire domestic petroleum production and distribution process, including checking compliance with illegal acts by petroleum operators and petroleum-related supply and demand matters.

Although inspections are usually conducted at sites where illegal petroleum sales occur, petroleum operators frequently refuse to comply with these inspections.

The province expects that this joint crackdown with the Gyeongnam Special Judicial Police will greatly assist in monitoring petroleum distribution activities.

The Special Judicial Police also foresee this as an opportunity to secure detailed information on petroleum included in their scope of duties this year, distribution status, and reports on illegal distribution activities, which will greatly help in detecting and blocking illegal petroleum distributors in the future.

Kim Eun-nam, Director of the Social Disaster Division, said, “Petroleum-related crimes included in the scope of duties of the Special Judicial Police from this year are serious crimes directly related to the safety of residents,” adding, “We hope this planned crackdown will help create a safe and sound society.”

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