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Agricultural/Livestock/Marine Product Consumers

Mandatory Indication of Origin

Mandatory Indication of Origin

What is Indication of Origin?

- The origin of a marine productis the country or region where a marine product was produced, collected, orcaptured (Subparagraph 4 of Article 2 of the Act on Origin Labeling, Etc. ofAgricultural and Fishery Products).

Mandatory Indication of Origin

- Parties who import, produce/process for shipping or sale (online sale included), or store/display for sale the following marine products must indicate their origin (Article 5(1) of the Act on Origin Labeling, Etc. of Agricultural and Fishery Products and Article 3(1) of the Enforcement Decree of the Act on Origin Labeling, Etc. of Agricultural and Fishery Products):

· Marine products announced by the Minister of Oceans and Fisheries for achieving order of distribution and for helping consumers to make the right choices

· Import marine products announced by the Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy in accordance with Article 33 of the Foreign Trade Act

- Items that require an indication of origin are shown in the Attached Table 1 of the Guidelines on Origin Labeling of Agricultural and Fishery Products (Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries).

Standards of Indication of Origin

- The standards applied to the indication of origin of marine products are as follows (Article 5(1) and Attached Table 1 of the Enforcement Decree of the Act on Origin Labeling, Etc. of Agricultural and Fishery Products):

Classification	Details
Domestic marine products	"Product of Korea," "domestic product," or "sourced in adjacent waters" must be indicated. However, for cultured marine products, coastal-resident marine products, or marine products from inland waters, the city/province or city/county/gu in which the marine product was produced, collected, cultured, or captured must be indicated.
Marine Products of Oceans	▪ A marine product brought into Korea after being sourced in foreign waters by a fishing vessel that has been issued a pelagic fishery permit in accordance with Paragraph 1 of Article 6 of the Ocean Industry Development Act must bear the indication "oceanic product" on its own or with the indication "Pacific Ocean," "Atlantic Ocean," "Indian Ocean," "Antarctic Ocean," or "Arctic Ocean."
Marine Products of Oceans	▪ In addition to the above indication, indications that are required to be made in accordance with the law of a coastal state may be made.
Import Marine Products and Outside Marine Products	For import marine products, indication of origin determined at customs clearance in accordance with the Foreign Trade Act
Import Marine Products and Outside Marine Products	For outside marine products brought in under the Inter-Korea Exchange and Cooperation Act, indication of origin determined at the time such agricultural products are brought into Korea

- A person who fails to indicate the country of origin of fishery products shall be subject to an administrative fine not exceeding 10 million won (Subparagraph 1 of Article 18(1) of Act on Origin Labeling, Etc. of Agricultural and Fishery Products).

Method of Indication of Origin

- The method of indication of origin of marine products is shown in Attached Table 1 of the Enforcement Regulations of the Act on Origin Labeling, Etc. of Agricultural and Fishery Products (Subparagraph 1 of Article 3 of the Enforcement Rules of the Act on Origin Labeling, Etc. of Agricultural and Fishery Products).

- Violation of the method of indication of origin of marine products is grounds for a fine of up to KRW 10 million (Subparagraph 2 of Article 18(1) of the Act on Origin Labeling, Etc. of Agricultural and Fishery Products).

Violation of the Standards of Indication of Origin

- The following activities are strictly prohibited (Article 6(1) of the Act on Origin Labeling, Etc. of Agricultural and Fishery Products).

· False or unclear indication of origin

· Damage or change of an indication of origin intended to cause confusion

· Sale with the indication of origin concealed; mixing of marine products with an indication of origin with other marine products or processed products for sale or in storage or display for sale

Penalties for Violations of the Standards of Indication of Origin

Classification		Details
Corrective order, etc.	Violation of Article 5 or Article 6 of the Act on Origin Labeling, Etc. of Agricultural and Fishery Products	▪ Order of execution, change, or removal of indication ▪ Prohibition of sale of non-compliant marine products or processed products (Article 9(1) of the Act on Origin Labeling, Etc. of Agricultural and Fishery Products and Subparagraph 2 of Article 9(1) and Subparagraph 2 of Article 9(3) of the Enforcement Decree of the Act on Origin Labeling, Etc. of Agricultural and Fishery Products)
Announcement of disposition	Violation of Article 5 or Article 6 of the Act on Origin Labeling, Etc. of Agricultural and Fishery Products	If a disposition is confirmed in accordance with Article 9(1) of the Act on Origin Labeling, Etc. of Agricultural and Fishery Products, details of the disposition must be announced (Article 9(2) of the Act on Origin Labeling, Etc. of Agricultural and Fishery Products)
Administrative penalty	Violation of Article 6 of the Act on Origin Labeling, Etc. of Agricultural and Fishery Products	Imprisonment of up to 7 years and/or a fine of up to KRW 100 million (Article 14(1) of the Act on Origin Labeling, Etc. of Agricultural and Fishery Products)
Administrative penalty	Failure to carry out a disposition in accordance with Article 9(1) of the Act on Origin Labeling, Etc. of Agricultural and Fishery Products	If a party to whom a corrective order was issued does not carry out the required disposition, imprisonment of up to 1 year or a fine of up to KRW 10 million (Article 16 of the Act on Origin Labeling, Etc. of Agricultural and Fishery Products)
Fine	Violation of Article 6(1) of the Act on Origin Labeling, Etc. of Agricultural and Fishery Products	A party who violates the prohibition of false indication of origin more than 2 times in a period of 2 years is subject to a fine equivalent to 5 times the value of the violation (Article 6-2(1) of Act on Origin Labeling, Etc. of Agricultural and Fishery Products)