Authorities have uncovered a wave of businesses falsely labeling food origins, including selling cheap "okdu-eo" fish as premium "okdom" (tile fish).
The Jeju Self-Governing Police Unit announced Wednesday that a special crackdown before and after the Lunar New Year holiday resulted in 15 violations related to food safety and agricultural product distribution.
The violations included 10 cases of origin labeling violations (six false labels and four missing labels), one food labeling and advertising violation, and four cases of business compliance violations. The police unit referred 11 serious cases involving false origin labeling to prosecutors and notified administrative authorities to impose fines for the four missing-label cases.
Two restaurants on the island were caught selling "okdu-eo"—a fish similar in appearance to okdom—at premium okdom prices. Two other restaurants were found storing expired products intended for cooking.
Some businesses falsely labeled Philippine octopus, Chinese kimchi, Chinese red pepper powder, and rapeseed flower liquor ingredients as domestically produced.
Okdu-eo belongs to the same family as okdom and looks similar, making it difficult for ordinary consumers to distinguish visually. However, its price is only one-quarter that of Jeju-sourced okdom.
Authentic okdom has a silver-white triangular spot below the eye and irregular yellow vertical stripes on the body center. The dorsal fin is orange, and the tail fin features five to six yellow horizontal stripes on a pale yellow background.
In contrast, okdu-eo lacks the silver-white marking below the eye and has black or gray dorsal fins. Its tail fin shows two to three yellow vertical stripes in a wave pattern. Fish marketed as "black okdom" or "white okdom" are often actually okdu-eo.
Southern tile fish is also easily confused with okdom. It lacks the triangular marking below the eye and has a brownish back. Its dorsal fin features black spots scattered on a yellow background.
In October last year, a court handed down a suspended sentence in a similar case. The Jeju District Court sentenced restaurant owner A to six months in prison with a one-year suspension for violating the Food Sanitation Act and fined the company 5 million won (approximately $3,500).
A was indicted for purchasing 1,245 kilograms of okdu-eo at approximately 40 million won ($28,500) between November 30, 2023, and September 12, 2024, then selling it as "Jeju-sourced okdom."
He prepared the okdu-eo as "grilled okdom" and sold 2,516 servings at 36,000 won ($26) each, generating approximately 90 million won ($64,000) in revenue.
"We considered that the defendant has no prior criminal record of imprisonment or higher, and that he acknowledged and repented his wrongdoing," the court said in explaining its sentencing.