'Top hotels used fake Korean beef'

'Top hotels used fake Korean beef'

By Kang Shin-who The prosecution is expanding an investigation into suspicions that a beef wholesaler sold imported beef to five-star hotels and general hospitals, deliberately mislabeled as the more expensive hanwoo or Korean beef. Among the hotels that used the imported products supplied as Korean beef are JW Marriot Hotel, Westin Chosun, Ritz-Carlton Seoul and KAL Hotel. Asan Medical Center also used the products. The wholesaler, identified as Kim, put Korean-origin stickers on imported beef, pork and chicken and sold 124,000 kilograms of the products to 140 hotels and hospitals, as well as food catering chains from December, 2009 to August, 2010. The prosecution said the amount of fake Korean beef, which is being circulated in the market, could be far more than has been revealed so far. Also, more beef dealers are suspected of similar practices. Kim has been detained and indicted on charges of violating the law regarding place-of-origin labeling. "A large amount of beef being wrongly labeled as Korean has disturbed the market order. It’s a serious matter for public health. We will widen our investigation into the case,” said an official from a district prosecution office in eastern Seoul. Prosecutors plan to secure further data on beef transactions entered into by Kim. Recipients, whom Kim provided with fake Korean beef, have been questioned about the case; and some confessed that they received kickbacks from him. Prosecutors haven’t ruled out the possibility that other hotel and hospital staff members knew about the U.S. beef with Korean labels. 특급호텔들 가짜 한우 쓴 혐의 받아 검찰은 수입 쇠고기를 한우로 둔갑해 판매한 혐의에 대한 수사를 특급호텔 및 종합병원 등에 확대했다. 판매책인 김모씨는 2009년 12월부터 2010년 8월까지 수입산 쇠고기, 돼지고기, 닭고기 등에 스티커를 부쳐 국산으로 둔갑 시킨 뒤 140개의 호텔과 병원을 비롯해 식자재 유통사업을 하는 대기업 계열사에 12만 4천 킬로그램을 납품했다. 검찰은 시장에서 판매되고 있는 가짜 한우의 규모가 당초 적발된 것보다 훨씬 크다고 밝혔다. 김씨는 원산지 표시를 위반한 혐의로 기소됐다. 검찰은 김씨와 거래를 한 업체들의 거래명세서를 토대로 철저한 수사 할 것이라고 밝혔다.

kswho@koreatimes.co.kr