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Gov't cracks down on falsified country-of-origin meat labeling

Published: 25 Aug. 2025, 14:08 Updated: 25 Aug. 2025, 15:14

This unrelated file photo shows a shopper looking around imported meat prodcuts at a large supermarket in Seoul on Dec. 15, 2020. [YONHAP]

Businesses that falsely labeled imported meats as domestic — including one that sold Chinese duck meat as Korean — were caught in a government crackdown ahead of the summer season, when meat dishes are popular for their perceived health and stamina benefits.

A total of 392 businesses were found to have violated country-of-origin labeling regulations via inspections that were carried out from July 14 to Aug. 14 on meat importers, distributors and restaurants, particularly those in tourist areas, according to the National Agricultural Products Quality Management Service (NAQS) on Sunday.

In one case, a restaurant on Jeju Island was selling pork belly from Portugal as Jeju pork. Another restaurant in North Gyeongsang was caught selling chicken from Brazil while labeling it as Korean. Some businesses were also found to be selling duck meat from China disguised as Korean.

Of the 355 individual cases of false labeling uncovered in the crackdown, duck meat accounted for 161 cases, or 45.4 percent. This was followed by pork, with 88 cases, or 24.8 percent, goat meat with 42 cases, or 11.8 percent, beef with 37 cases, or 10.4 percent, chicken with 26 cases, or 7.3 percent, and honey with one case, or 0.3 percent.

Of the businesses caught, 103 were referred for criminal investigation. Another 226 businesses were fined a total of 74 million won ($53,360) for failing to label origins.

“We plan to continue monitoring country-of-origin labeling for livestock products as both imports and consumption rise,” said Park Sun-yeon, head of the NAQS. “Next month, we will also carry out inspections on labeling for Chuseok holiday products.”

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY SHIN HYE-YEON [[email protected]]