'Reused Ice from Trash' at Gwangjang Market Restaurant Results in 1.5 Million Won Fine

Jongno District Office Imposes Fine After On-Site Inspection
'Ban on Food Reuse' Regulation Not Applied

A restaurant in Gwangjang Market, Seoul, was fined by the district office for collecting ice from beverage cups discarded in the trash and reusing it for food ingredient storage.

According to the Kukmin Ilbo on May 11, the Jongno District Office in Seoul conducted an on-site inspection of the restaurant in question on May 2, confirmed violations of the Food Sanitation Act, and decided to impose a total fine of 1.5 million won.

Previously, on April 30, an employee at a restaurant in Gwangjang Market was spotted by a citizen removing disposable cups containing ice from a trash can in front of the store, rinsing them with water, and then transferring the ice into a styrofoam box containing fish innards (gonies). The informant also claimed that the employee cooked food without washing their hands, even though they were wearing gloves used to rummage through the trash. The incident was reported through JTBC's program "Incident Commander."

An employee at a restaurant inside Seoul Gwangjang Market is taking discarded ice cups and reusing them. JTBC 'Incident Captain' capture.

The informant stated, "I witnessed the scene while looking down at the market from a cafe," and added, "Even considering the unique nature of the market, it is hard to accept the reuse of ice that has been thrown away in the trash." In response, the business owner explained, "I did not instruct the staff to reuse the ice," and said, "It appears the employee acted on their own because they thought it was wasteful."

The Jongno District Office, which conducted the on-site inspection, determined that the restaurant's actions violated hygiene handling standards under the Food Sanitation Act. Accordingly, it decided to impose a fine of 1 million won for reusing ice on food ingredients and an additional 500,000 won for touching food ingredients with contaminated gloves, totaling 1.5 million won. However, the regulation prohibiting the reuse of food (Article 44 of the Food Sanitation Act), which can result in business suspension, was not applied.

An official from the district office explained, "That provision applies when food previously served to customers is reused within the establishment," and added, "In this case, since the ice was taken from an external trash can, we received feedback from the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety and others that it is legally difficult to apply the provision."

Meanwhile, Gwangjang Co., Ltd., the operator of Gwangjang Market, separately imposed a three-week business suspension on the restaurant in question. It was also reported that the business owner admitted to the ice reuse and issued an apology. Jongno District Office plans to expand hygiene inspections for restaurants in Gwangjang Market in light of this incident.

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