According to the Korea Customs Service (KCS), on 22 January, the KCS, together with the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (MAFRA) and the South Korea's Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries (MOF), will conduct an operation to detect irregularities in the marking of origin on imported food and gifts from 22 January to 8 February in anticipation of the Lunar New Year. As one of the measures under the "Lunar New Year Stabilisation Measures" issued by the government on January 16, the campaign aims to prevent imported food products and gifts used for festivals, which have seen an increase in demand during the Lunar New Year period, from being labelled as domestically produced products at the import and distribution stages. 

The KCS said that false labelling of origin not only causes direct losses to domestic consumers, but also to domestic agriculture and fisheries-related producers and manufacturing enterprises, is a clear criminal offence. The seizure will put an end to violations of origin marking and ensure the safety of food, gifts and other imported goods during the Chinese New Year.