By Lee Kyung-min
Prosecutors raided the offices of the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, Wednesday, over allegations that the results of safety tests on imported food were fabricated in favor of one company.
The Supreme Prosecutors' Office said that the raid was conducted on the ministry's headquarters in Osong, North Chungcheong Province, and the office of its Seoul branch in Yangcheon-gu.
The probe is based on an administrative lawsuit filed by a food importer, who claimed that it was banned from importing chicken skewers from China because the ministry manipulated the results of safety tests that it conducted.
The importer filed the suit after its request for another test was denied by the ministry.
In a complaint, the firm accused the ministry of receiving bribes from a competitor and then forging the results of its safety test to favor the rival firm.
The company claimed that safety tests it commissioned on local institutions proved that the chicken skewers were safe to eat, and that only the ministry declared that they should be banned.
But a ministry official said, "We rejected them because they were found to contain a carcinogenic substance. Also, we did not find any mistakes during the testing process. We believe that the prosecutors will find out the truth."
Rep. Kim Seung-nam of the New Politics Alliance for Democracy (NPAD) also raised the issue at a parliamentary audit session, Tuesday.
Prosecutors raided the offices of the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, Wednesday, over allegations that the results of safety tests on imported food were fabricated in favor of one company.
The Supreme Prosecutors' Office said that the raid was conducted on the ministry's headquarters in Osong, North Chungcheong Province, and the office of its Seoul branch in Yangcheon-gu.
The probe is based on an administrative lawsuit filed by a food importer, who claimed that it was banned from importing chicken skewers from China because the ministry manipulated the results of safety tests that it conducted.
The importer filed the suit after its request for another test was denied by the ministry.
In a complaint, the firm accused the ministry of receiving bribes from a competitor and then forging the results of its safety test to favor the rival firm.
The company claimed that safety tests it commissioned on local institutions proved that the chicken skewers were safe to eat, and that only the ministry declared that they should be banned.
But a ministry official said, "We rejected them because they were found to contain a carcinogenic substance. Also, we did not find any mistakes during the testing process. We believe that the prosecutors will find out the truth."
Rep. Kim Seung-nam of the New Politics Alliance for Democracy (NPAD) also raised the issue at a parliamentary audit session, Tuesday.
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