Ahead of the Chuseok holiday, a large number of country-of-origin labeling violations were uncovered. Illegal acts continued, such as passing off Chinese kimchi or foreign meat as domestic products and selling them.
According to the National Agricultural Products Quality Management Service (NAQS) on the 16th, a concentrated inspection of country-of-origin labeling for gift and ritual agricultural and livestock products from Sept. 15 to Oct. 2 uncovered a total of 373 places (410 cases). The inspection was carried out at 17,364 businesses nationwide with participation from special judicial police and honorary monitors.
By item, there were ▲ 99 cases of napa cabbage kimchi ▲ 59 cases of pork ▲ 44 cases of tofu products ▲ 28 cases of chicken ▲ 25 cases of beef. Of these, 198 businesses that made false labels will be booked and sent to the prosecution, and 175 businesses caught for non-labeling were hit with fines totaling 38.26 million won.
In the detected cases, a general restaurant in Cheongju, North Chungcheong Province, used Chinese napa cabbage kimchi but falsely labeled it as "napa cabbage and red pepper powder domestic," selling 1,270 kilograms (worth 2.16 million won) before being caught. A restaurant in Pyeongchang, Gangwon Province, labeled bulgogi made with U.S. beef as "domestic" and sold 556 kilograms (10.01 million won), and a butcher shop in Seoul was found to have taken Mexican pork out of cold storage and sold it as "domestic."
Along with this crackdown, NAQS held a joint campaign with consumer groups at multiuse facilities such as traditional markets and large discount stores, and also conducted joint enforcement with the Korea Forest Service, Korea Customs Service, and local governments.
NAQS Administrator Park Sun-yeon said, "During the upcoming kimjang season, we plan to focus inspections on country-of-origin labeling for seasonings such as napa cabbage, red pepper powder, and garlic," adding, "We will also strengthen management of livestock products such as goats, whose imports have been rising recently."