The prosecution announced on November 3 that it sought the indictment of 623 people who have been producing fake or substandard food products and has arrested 93 people among them. They were discovered during a special crackdown on illegal food producers with the cooperation of the regional prosecutors office and its branches nationwide for five months since June.
The accused, by cases, were: 160 people for manufacturing and selling substandard food products, 161 for forging country of origin, 117 for selling food items with expired dates, 23 for issuing forged test certificates, 22 for selling fake organic food, and 140 people for other cases.
The prosecution decided to continue its crackdowns for an undefined term in its investigation department of civil economy violators established in 55 branch offices. Following are the descriptions of major cases:
Selling Korean Beef Suspected of Foot-and-Mouth Disease
Three people including Hwang, a livestock products distribution business owner, have sold 7.8 tons of Korean beef soundbone in January last year and October this year to a livestock products wholesaler in Seongdong-gu, Seoul for 107.5 million won.
The Chungju Branch Office of the Cheongju District Prosecutors Office recently arrested them for allegations of having stored the soundbones suspected of food-and-mouth disease infection when the disease was in outbreak during April 2000 in Chungcheong and May 2002 in Gyeonggi and having distributed them. The allegations violate the livestock products manufacturing and handling law.
The foot-and-mouth disease was known as harmless to the human body, but all the cows are to be slaughtered and any objects involved with the cows were disposed of within a limited travel zone in case of outbreak of the disease.
Selling Food Items with Expired Dates
Chung, a 37-year-old livestock products distribution business owner, sold 45 tons (amounts to 1.7 billion won) of imported frozen bacon with expiration dates of one year passed to a wholesaler in June this year. The wholesaler then sold eight tons of it to a butchers shop, and about two tons of it were sold to consumers from there. This case was discovered by the Ulsan District Prosecutors Office.
The prosecutions investigation found out that the pork was not expired when imported but had expired eventually when it was not being sold for a period of time due to factors like price drops and bankruptcy of distribution companies.
Selling Fake Organic Food
Two middle distribution business owners of organic foods were arrested by the South Seoul Prosecutors Office while selling vegetables cultivated in a non-certified farm with fake environment-friendly certification stickers attached to them.
It was revealed that they supplied 220 million won of vegetables to large-scale discount stores food departments. They were targeting the increase in consumers for environment-friendly agricultural products with prices that are twice or three times higher.
Producing Substandard Pepper Powder
Chung, a 41-year-old food product manufacturing business owner, manufactured substandard pepper powder with Chinese dried pepper paste and dried peppers with a rate of 3 to 7 from November 2001 to October 2004 and has sold nine tons of it to catering companies for 800 million won. The pepper paste included more than 50 percent starch and other ingredients.
The prosecutions investigation also found Chung bribing Oh, the purchase manager of a catering company, with 1.5 million won every month which totaled 87 million won. The pepper powder was then supplied to hotel employees cafeterias and department stores. The East Seoul Prosecutors Office arrested both Chung and Oh.