Seoul to Intensify Checks at 9,500 Kimchi Businesses Amid Concerns Over Chinese Cabbage

Seoul is expanding food-safety checks after concerns spread that formaldehyde had been used on Chinese cabbage, despite the national food safety agency finding none in 82 tested samples.

The city said it would inspect the distribution and consumption of Chinese cabbage and cabbage kimchi through the 30th of next month. The campaign covers about 9,500 locations, including 10 kimchi manufacturers, 490 side-dish shops, roughly 6,400 restaurants serving cabbage kimchi and 2,600 cabbage sellers in traditional markets and elsewhere.

Officials will focus on whether businesses disclose product origins accurately. Seoul has also collected 12 Chinese cabbage kimchi products, including eight sold online and four sold offline, to test for formaldehyde. Chinese cabbage entering wholesale markets such as Garak Market will be collected and tested as well.

The Seoul Research Institute of Public Health and Environment will conduct the formaldehyde tests, while the Seoul Agro-Fisheries and Food Corporation will track incoming products. Results will be released monthly. If unsafe products are found, authorities will notify the national food safety agency and other relevant bodies and block distribution. Businesses that fail to identify origins or provide false information could face fines or criminal complaints.

Mayor Oh Se-hoon said officials should check products from wholesale markets through online and offline distribution channels, restaurants and traditional markets. “There can be no complacency over food safety,” he said, adding that the city would take strict action as soon as problems were confirmed.

“

There can be no complacency over food safety.