Disguising Edible Garlic as Seed Garlic... Korea Seed & Variety Service Launches Crackdown on Illegal Sales

Crackdown Focused on Major Domestic Garlic-Producing Regions

A crackdown will be conducted to block illegal distribution, such as disguising edible garlic as garlic seed and selling it. Using refrigerated imported edible garlic as seed garlic can reduce productivity due to poor plant growth and other issues.

The Korea Seed & Variety Service announced on August 19 that it will conduct focused inspections in major domestic garlic-producing regions during the peak season (August to September) for garlic seed (garlic bulbs) distribution for planting.

To meet domestic demand for garlic seed ahead of this fall’s planting season, the volume of imported garlic seed between July 1 and August 10, 2026, reached 670.5 tons, up 830.5% from 72 tons for the same period the previous year. The Korea Seed & Variety Service believes there is a high risk that imported edible garlic unsuitable for use as seed may be disguised and distributed as garlic seed. For this reason, it plans to promote the seed distribution system and conduct on-site inspections targeting key garlic-producing regions, and will also carry out continuous online monitoring.

The main inspection items include: ▲ seed business registration ▲ notification of production/import and sale of varieties ▲ indication of production year or packaging date ▲ indication of import date, and other seed quality labeling requirements. If there are suspicions of illegal acts such as violations of country-of-origin labeling, joint action will be taken with related agencies such as the National Agricultural Products Quality Management Service.

If, as a result of investigation, a business is found to be selling seeds without registering as a seed business or failing to report the production/import and sale of varieties, it will be subject to imprisonment for up to two years or a fine of up to 20 million won. For violations of seed quality labeling obligations, an administrative fine will be imposed.

Yang Jupil, Director of the Korea Seed & Variety Service, stated, "This year's poor garlic harvest has led to higher prices and increasing demand for seed garlic in producing regions, which could result in a rise in illegal garlic seed distribution, such as disguising edible garlic as seed garlic. We will make sure that only legally distributed garlic seed reaches farms so that producers may grow garlic stably."

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