Busan City to Ensure Food and Public Hygiene Safety During Summer Vacation Season... Special Crackdown on Illegal Business Activities

Special Crackdown on Illegal Operations at Lodgings and Restaurants from the 15th to August 31st

Strict Measures Including Criminal Charges, Up to 3 Years in Prison or Fines up to 30 Million Won

The Busan Metropolitan City Special Judicial Police will conduct a special crackdown on illegal business activities at accommodations and restaurants around tourist attractions from the 15th to August 31st, in response to the summer vacation season.

Summary of Planned Investigation.

This crackdown has been planned to provide safe food and public hygiene environments for domestic and international tourists visiting Busan during the summer holidays, so they can have a positive impression of Busan as an 'International Tourism City' and 'Global Hub City' and be encouraged to visit again.

First, for accommodations, the crackdown will focus on illegal business activities at lodgings near tourist attractions, such as those with ocean views that are popular among tourists. In particular, the authorities will intensively inspect for unregistered accommodations to ensure the safety of tourists visiting Busan.

To operate an accommodation business, it is required by the Public Sanitation Management Act to have proper facilities, including fire safety equipment, and to register the business with the local district or county office.

Unregistered accommodations generally make it difficult to verify compliance with fire safety installation standards and are therefore vulnerable to various accidents, including fires.

For restaurants, the crackdown will focus on popular eateries along tourist routes and near tourist attractions. The authorities plan to thoroughly inspect overall food hygiene, including the sanitary condition of kitchens, whether food is being reused, and compliance with expiration dates for ingredients, especially at establishments serving Busan's signature dishes such as pork soup (Dwaeji-gukbap), wheat noodles (Milmyeon), live fish, and fish cakes (Eomuk).

Businesses found to be in violation during this special crackdown will face strict action, including criminal charges, in accordance with relevant regulations.

Operating an unregistered accommodation business can result in imprisonment for up to two years or a fine of up to 20 million won under the Public Sanitation Management Act. Using expired products in food preparation can result in imprisonment for up to three years or a fine of up to 30 million won under the Food Sanitation Act. Poor sanitary conditions in kitchens can lead to a fine of up to 5 million won under the Food Sanitation Act.

The city's Special Judicial Police receive citizen reports of illegal activities in the food and public hygiene sectors through the Food Investigation Team and Public Sanitation Investigation Team.

Mayor Park Hyungjoon stated, "This crackdown was planned to provide safe food and public hygiene environments for domestic and international tourists visiting Busan, and to highlight Busan's image as a safe and desirable city to revisit." He added, "The city will continue to create a safe food and public hygiene environment not only during the summer but throughout the year, so that both domestic and international tourists can visit Busan with peace of mind."

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