2 arrested for cutting Korean chili powder with cheaper Chinese ingredients

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A chili powder maker and his business partner have been arrested for allegedly mixing their made-in-Korea product with cheaper Chinese ingredients and lying about the country of origin to generate more profits.

According to the office of the National Agricultural Products Quality Management Service in South Chungcheong Province, Monday, the two suspects now face indictment on charges of making 4.1 billion won ($3 million) in ill-gotten gains between March 2022 and this February by labeling the blend only as Korean-made.

More than 1,500 tons of such products — worth 23.1 billion won — had been sold to kimchi makers and other food companies nationwide during that period.

In doing so, they allegedly doctored books to seem as if the Chinese chili powder had been sold lawfully to other customers.

Kang Hee-joong, director at the regional branch of the quality-control agency, said he would continue to keep a watchful eye out for such fraudulent practices.