Gyeonggi Special Judicial Police Uncover 12 Cases of Illegal Activity at Large Restaurants

The Gyeonggi Province Special Judicial Police Unit has uncovered a total of 12 illegal activities.

The provincial Special Judicial Police Unit announced on April 1 that it had conducted a focused investigation from March 3 to March 16 at 120 large food establishments, including dining out franchises in the province. As a result, it confirmed a total of 12 illegal activities, such as failure to report changes in business area and violations of operator compliance requirements.

This investigation was carried out to inspect the hygiene status of food service businesses frequently visited by residents, such as dining out franchises, in order to prevent food safety accidents and provide a safe dining environment for the public.

Major violations included the following cases: In Suwon, establishment A was found storing vegetables in an external refrigerated warehouse without reporting a change in the business area. In Dongducheon, establishment B was discovered keeping 10 types of products, including expired buckwheat sauce, inside the business premises without any indication of "for training" or "for disposal." In addition, in Gimpo, establishment C failed to comply with storage standards by storing fresh noodle products, which should be refrigerated, in a freezer warehouse.

Investigation Results on Illegal Activities of Large Food Establishments Including Food Service Franchises in Gyeonggi Province

According to the current Food Sanitation Act, violating standards related to the manufacturing, processing, use, cooking, or preservation methods of food can result in imprisonment for up to five years or a fine of up to 50 million won. Furthermore, failure to report major changes such as business area, or violating operator compliance requirements—such as manufacturing, processing, cooking, selling, subdividing, transporting, displaying, or storing products or raw materials past their expiration date for business purposes, or selling them—can result in imprisonment for up to three years or a fine of up to 30 million won.

Kwon Munju, Head of the Provincial Special Judicial Police Unit, stated, "Well-known franchises and large restaurants are highly trusted by residents, so stricter hygiene management is required. In particular, unreported expansion of business areas to store food ingredients or inadequate management of expiration dates are directly linked to public health. We will continue to conduct ongoing investigations to eradicate illegal activities."

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