Domestic Kimchi Falsely Labeled as Chinese... 71 Cases of Origin Labeling Violations in Seoul Metropolitan Area Agricultural Products

Nonggwanwon Special Crackdown from June 12 to 30
False Labeling Businesses Referred to Prosecution
Unlabeled Businesses Fined 5.75 Million Won

The National Agricultural Products Quality Management Service announced on the 6th that it had identified 71 businesses violating origin labeling regulations in the Seoul metropolitan area (Seoul, Gyeonggi, Incheon) from the 12th to the 30th of last month.

The number of businesses subject to origin labeling in the metropolitan area is 671,000, accounting for nearly half of the 1,572,000 nationwide. Accordingly, the agency deployed 60 inspection personnel to the metropolitan area to carry out the crackdown.

As a result of the inspection, the agency found 47 cases of false labeling and 24 cases of no labeling. The violations by product were as follows: 23 cases of baechu kimchi (29.1%), 19 cases of pork (24.1%), 11 cases of soybeans (13.9%), 9 cases of beef (11.4%), 8 cases of chicken (10.1%), 3 cases of rice (3.8%), 2 cases of red pepper powder (2.5%), and 4 cases of others (5.1%). Some businesses were found to have multiple violations across different products.

For example, Restaurant A in Namyangju, Gyeonggi Province, purchased Chinese baechu kimchi and used it to prepare and sell dishes such as kimchi kalguksu and kimchi dumplings, or served it as side dishes, falsely labeling the kimchi origin as domestic, selling approximately 17.28 million KRW worth (about 10,000 kg).

The agency explained, "This crackdown focused on popular products with high violation rates every year, such as baechu kimchi and pork. To conduct efficient inspections in a short period, we utilized information from related organizations like the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, internal reports, past violation cases, and distribution and price status of major products in advance for on-site inspections."

The agency criminally prosecuted and transferred businesses that falsely labeled origin to the prosecution after investigation, and imposed fines of 5.75 million KRW on businesses that failed to label origin.

Seo Hae-dong, head of the agency, stated, "We will continue to support guidance, publicity, and inspections of origin labeling in the metropolitan area, where inspection personnel are insufficient," and urged, "Please report if there is no origin labeling or if violations are suspected."

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