Restaurants sold imported goat meat while advertising '100% domestic'

Seoul's Civil Justice Police Bureau said Wednesday it had caught 10 restaurants selling goat, duck and other summer health foods in violation of the country's origin labeling law. The crackdown targeted 132 establishments between June 15 and Friday, July 3.

Of the 10 violations, four restaurants were cited for misleading origin labeling, one for false labeling and five for failing to display any origin information at all.

The misleading-label cases involved restaurants that posted signs at their entrances reading "100% domestic black goat" or "All black goat is 100% domestic," while interior notices disclosed that Australian goat was mixed in. One establishment listed the origin of its black goat as "Australia/domestic" on its official label board but used only cheaper Australian goat in practice to prepare and sell black goat soup. Other restaurants prepared and sold dishes — including black goat soup and boiled meat — containing imported ingredients without displaying any origin information. One business was also caught labeling its kimchi as made from "domestic cabbage" while using Chinese-grown cabbage.

The operation was conducted in full collaboration with the Seoul office of the National Agricultural Products Quality Management Service, the government body responsible for overseeing origin labeling, covering every stage from intelligence gathering to on-site inspections. The Seoul Metropolitan Institute of Public Health and Environment also conducted DNA testing on goat meat samples.

DNA analysis by the Seoul Metropolitan Institute of Public Health and Environment confirmed that all 21 items tested — each labeled and sold as domestic — were indeed meat from native black goats raised in South Korea.

The five establishments found to have used misleading or false origin labels will be referred to prosecutors after investigation, while the five that failed to display any origin information will face administrative fines.

Under the origin labeling law, false or misleading labeling is subject to criminal punishment, while failure to display origin information carries a fine of up to 10 million won ($6,550).

The bureau said active tips from the public are essential to stamping out illegal practices. Under a Seoul city ordinance on the protection and support of public interest whistleblowers, informants who provide decisive evidence can receive a reward of up to 200 million won after review.

"The vast majority of restaurants correctly label their ingredients, but illegal practices persist at some establishments, so it matters that citizens take care to check origin labels," bureau chief Byeon Gyeong-ok said. "Seoul will pursue origin labeling violations to the end and do its utmost to create a healthy dining environment where residents can eat with confidence."

The city said it focused on origin labeling for goat meat because demand and imports have jumped as the meat emerges as an alternative to dog meat ahead of a full ban on the distribution and sale of food products made from dogs, which takes effect Feb. 7 next year. Domestic goat meat consumption nearly doubled in three years, rising from 6,600 tons in 2021 to 13,000 tons in 2024, while imports surged more than fourfold over the same period, from 1,883 tons to 8,143 tons.

Domestic output, however, has remained largely flat at around 5,000 tons on a carcass-weight basis. According to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, production stood at 5,167 tons in 2020, dipped to 4,753 tons in 2021, then gradually recovered but still reached only 5,565 tons in 2024. Imports grew sharply over the same period — from 1,161 tons in 2020 to 8,143 tons in 2024. Of that total, 8,126 tons came from Australia, making it the dominant source of imported goat meat.