KB News Desk
A man in his 60s has been sentenced to one year in prison, suspended for two years, for falsely labeling Chinese-made pipe components as South Korean products before exporting them to the United States.
According to the Busan District Court on Friday, the man exported 61,540 Chinese-made flanges on 52 occasions beginning in April 2023, mainly to the United States.
The products, worth a combined 4.35 billion won ($2.9 million), were shipped with certificates of origin falsely identifying them as South Korean-made. He also filed false country-of-origin declarations with the Busan Main Customs.
Flanges are pipe fittings used to connect sections of piping in industrial facilities, including oil refineries and nuclear power plants.
“Falsely marking a product’s country of origin is a serious crime that undermines the integrity of international trade and damages Korea’s credibility in the global market,” the court said.
The court also fined the man 11 million won and imposed a 30 million won fine on his company.
In suspending the prison term, the court noted that although the man had two previous convictions for similar offenses, neither had resulted in punishment more severe than a fine. It also considered his admission of guilt and expression of remorse.
