Two Jeju Chinese restaurants caught using illegal Chinese-made food ingredients

Jeju Island Autonomous Police Unit announced on the 15th that they have identified two Chinese restaurants for violating the Special Act on the Safety of Imported Food by using illegal ingredients from China.

Mr. A (34), who runs a high-end Chinese restaurant in Jeju City popular among Chinese tourists, was caught on the 12th for preparing and selling food using illegally obtained ingredients ordered directly through a major Chinese online shopping mall.

Mr. A was investigated for illegally purchasing and selling a total of 37.5 kg of ingredients, including 22.5 kg of special sauces such as "Hwa Gwa Yuk" and "Mae Jae Gu Yuk" for use in Chinese cuisine, 10 kg of dried vegetables, and 5 kg of green tea, from a Chinese online shopping mall.

Mr. A stated, "It is difficult to replicate the authentic Chinese taste with domestically available sauces and ingredients, so I purchased them directly from an online shopping mall."

On May 14th, a well-known Chinese rice noodle chain in Jeju City was also caught.

Partner B (45) and C (46) have been directly trading with the main office's food ingredient manufacturing plant in China since opening their business in January of this year, smuggling in subdivided food ingredients to avoid customs inspections.

It has been confirmed that they illegally imported and used a total of 173 kg of ingredients, including 15 types such as Pho broth, mala sauce, and dried noodles.

Mr. B and Mr. C stated, "Since it is our first chain store, it was difficult to legally import small quantities of ingredients, so we imported them illegally," and "If we open additional chain stores, we plan to declare and legally import the ingredients."

A total of 210 kg of illegally imported food ingredients caught during this crackdown will all be disposed of.

Under current law, importing and using illegal imported food without reporting may result in up to 5 years of imprisonment or a fine of up to 50 million won, according to the Special Act on the Safety of Imported Food.

Additionally, if food is prepared and sold using this ingredient, it may be punishable by up to 10 years in prison or a fine of up to 100 million won in accordance with the Food Sanitation Act.

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I'm very worried about Chinese ingredients.. I didn't realize that importing them directly like this would lead to inspections..ㅠ.ㅠ