Incheon authorities penalize nine businesses for livestock origin violations

The Incheon Special Judicial Police conducted a two-week planned investigation from September 7 to ensure food safety ahead of the Chuseok holiday. The crackdown targeted restaurants and livestock retailers near airports, ports, stations, tourist attractions, large shopping malls, and public bathhouses.

The investigation resulted in the detection of nine establishments for various violations. These included two restaurants that falsely labeled Chinese kimchi as both domestic and Chinese, one retailer that failed to include required labeling on pork products, five restaurants that failed to indicate the origin of items such as beef, chicken, and tofu, and one restaurant that failed to maintain mandatory transaction records.

Incheon plans to transfer three of the offending businesses—the two involving false origin labeling and the one involving missing product information—to the prosecution after completing investigations. Administrative actions will also be coordinated with local district offices. Under current laws, false origin labeling can result in up to seven years in prison or a fine of up to 100 million won, while failure to provide required labeling can lead to up to three years in prison or a 30 million won fine.