Delivery Apps Falsely Labeled 'Chinese Kimchi as Domestic'... 119 Violations of Country of Origin Found in Online Sales

76 Businesses Prosecuted for False Labeling

43 Locations Fined a Total of 13.85 Million Won for Missing Labels

The National Agricultural Products Quality Management Service announced on March 22 that, in order to strengthen the management of country of origin labeling in response to the growth of the e-commerce market, it conducted a regular inspection of country of origin labeling for mail-order sales, including delivery apps, from March 3 to 13, and detected violations at 119 businesses.

For this inspection, the Cyber Monitoring Team of the National Agricultural Products Quality Management Service (consisting of 450 members) conducted preliminary monitoring of online platforms and delivery apps that are frequently used by consumers. For businesses suspected of violations, special judicial police officers and honorary consumer organization monitors jointly carried out on-site inspections.

Employees of the National Agricultural Products Quality Management Service are monitoring the origin labeling of mail-order sales. National Agricultural Products Quality Management Service

As a result of the inspection, the number of country of origin labeling violations was highest among delivery apps, accounting for 103 cases or 86.6% of the total. Online platforms accounted for 15 cases, or 12.6%. The main items found in violation were napa cabbage kimchi (28 cases), pork (23 cases), tofu products (12 cases), chicken (12 cases), and rice (11 cases), in that order.

Major violations included cases where general restaurants served Chinese napa cabbage kimchi but falsely labeled the country of origin as domestic on delivery apps, and rice cake manufacturers who used mung beans from Myanmar and sesame seeds from China as ingredients but falsely labeled the country of origin as domestic on online platforms and sold the products.

Kim Cheol, head of the National Agricultural Products Quality Management Service, stated, "It is important to accurately indicate the country of origin, as consumers often do not see the actual goods when shopping online," adding, "We will continue to strengthen the management of country of origin labeling so that consumers can purchase agricultural and food products online with confidence."

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