A Michelin two-star restaurant has been fined for serving dishes containing ants that were not approved for consumption.
According to Yonhap News Agency, the Seoul Western District Court sentenced the restaurant's owner, identified as Kim (41), to a fine of 15 million won on September 16 for violating food hygiene laws. The restaurant's operating corporation was also fined 10 million won.
Kim and the corporation were accused of importing and serving dried ant products from the United States and Thailand in their dishes over a period of about four years starting in 2021.
The issue arose because ants are not included in the list of insects permitted as food ingredients in South Korea. Current food hygiene laws recognize only ten types of insects as edible, and ants are not among them.
During the trial, it was confirmed that the ants used in cooking and sales contained excessive levels of heavy metals.
The court stated, "We must consider the purpose of the law, which is to prevent hygiene-related harm from food and to protect and promote public health," noting the detection of heavy metals above permissible levels in the ants as a factor in sentencing.
However, the court opted for a fine rather than imprisonment, taking into account that Kim and the corporation acknowledged their wrongdoing and had no prior criminal record.
Additionally, the court suggested that Kim and the corporation may not have been fully aware that ants were not permitted as food ingredients in South Korea, given that some regions abroad utilize ants as food.
Earlier, prosecutors had requested a one-year prison sentence for Kim during the closing arguments on July 20. However, the court ultimately imposed a fine instead of a suspended prison sentence.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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