Joint Government Runs ‘Food Safety’ Related Public Interest Infringement Intensive Reporting Period

People can file a report via Clean Portal or ACRC website for a month starting from Nov. 11

(Oct. 18, 2022, Joint Government)

Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission (ACRC, Chairperson Jeon Hyun-Heui), Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, and Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries run food safety related public interest infringement reporting period for a month from Nov. 1^st to 30^th.

The term “act detrimental to the public interest” means any acts detrimental to health and safety of the people, the environment, the interests of consumers, fair competition and public interest equivalent thereto, which are subject to the penalty provisions of the relevant Acts governing infringement of public interest or administrative measures prescribed by Presidential Decree.

Under the circumstances where the demand for delivery food and home meal replacement has greatly increased due to the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic, ACRC decided to run the intensive reporting period related to violations of the food safety-related laws subject to public interest reporting in order to secure food safety for the general public.

Major examples of acts detrimental to the public interest related to food include: ▴sales of food whose expiration date has passed ▴manufacturing, processing, cooking and selling, etc. of food without business license, registration, and reporting; ▴distribution and sales of non-reported imported food ▴sales of imported food whose expiration date has passed; ▴false labeling of the country of origin or labeling that may cause confusion as to the country of origin ▴cooking, selling and providing agricultural and fishery products under the country of origin disguised ▴storing or displaying agricultural and fishery products after destroying or changing country of origin labels for the purpose of disguising the country of origin ▴cooking, selling or providing country of origin labeled agricultural and fishery products or the processed products thereof mixed with the same agricultural and fishery products or the processed products thereof under a different country of origin.

Anyone can file a public interest report under the law and the confidentiality of a reporting person is thoroughly protected.

Public interest whistleblowers can be provided with protective measures including measures of reinstatement and personal protection, etc. from the ACRC with regard to any disadvantageous measures or harm to his or her life or body that may be caused by a whistleblowing disclosure.

In addition, a whistleblower may use the system of non-real name report by proxy which allows the whistleblower to have his or her attorney-at-law file a whistleblowing disclosure without disclosing his or her personal information.

* www.clean.go.kr → Clean Portal → Reporting → Non-Real Name Proxy Reports  

A whistleblowing disclosure can be filed online at www.clean.go.kr or by visiting or mailing to ACRC, and people can receive counseling on corruption and public interest reports for free using ☎1398 call service or ☎110 public call service at anywhere.

* (Sejong) Comprehensive Civil Complaints Counseling Center, 1^st floor of the ACRC, 20 Doum 5-ro, Sejong

(Seoul) Joint Government Civil Complaints Center, 1^st floor of Annex Hall of the Government Complex-Seoul, 60 Sajikro 8-gil, Jongno, Seoul

ACRC, Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, and Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, etc. will make concerted efforts to eradicate acts detrimental to the public interest that threaten the safety of dietary life of the general public through active cooperation during the intensive reporting period.