Josun Hotel also wins on appeal in fine lawsuit over 'expired ingredients'

Josun Hotel & Resort won on appeal in a lawsuit seeking to overturn Gangnam-gu Office’s 55 million won fine.

The Seoul High Court upheld the lower court, saying there was no clear legal basis to punish a business solely for keeping ingredients past their sell-by date after the switch to the consumer-use date system.

Gangnam-gu Office had fined Josun Palace after finding expired spices at the buffet, but both the first trial and appeal sided with Josun Hotel.

The ruling could narrow local governments’ ability to impose penalties for expired food storage under the revised food safety regime.