Overview

• On July 10, the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety formally referred the restaurant owner and its business entity to prosecutors for violating the Food Sanitation Act
• Authorities opened the probe after social media posts revealed dishes garnished with ants, with investigators from the Central Investigation Team for Food Safety Crimes leading the inquiry
• Records show the operator imported two ant species from the United States and Thailand via express mail between April 2021 and November 2024
• From April 2021 to January 2025, the restaurant served roughly 12,000 dishes topped with three to five ants each, generating about 120 million won in revenue
• Under current regulations, only ten insect species are approved as food ingredients and companies must obtain temporary approval to introduce any additional insects