According to an Aug. 24 report by The Korea Times, cabbage wholesalers in Kangbao County, Zhangjiakou, Hebei Province, China, reportedly dipped cabbage roots in a formaldehyde solution before loading the produce onto trucks to extend its shelf life.
The incident has quickly raised food-safety concerns. The South Korean government has also stepped up inspections of Chinese-imported cabbage and is currently verifying whether any of the affected cabbage was exported to South Korea.
Video exposes cabbage being dipped in formaldehyde; local authorities confirm the incident
According to Shanghai Observer, the incident first emerged in a video circulating on the Chinese short-video platform Douyin. The footage shows workers at a cabbage collection point in Kangbao County, Zhangjiakou, Hebei Province, dipping individual cabbage roots into a container of liquid before loading them onto trucks. Packages labeled “formaldehyde solution” are also visible nearby.
People at the site said that this treatment could keep the cabbages fresh for an additional two to three days during transportation.
As the video drew widespread attention, the Kangbao County government launched an investigation. In an Aug. 22 notice, local authorities said their preliminary findings confirmed the conduct shown in the footage. Investigators determined that a cabbage buyer had illegally used formaldehyde to preserve the vegetables during transportation. Public security authorities have since taken action against the individuals and vehicles involved, while the investigation remains ongoing.
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Formaldehyde is a highly irritating chemical, and its aqueous solution is commonly known as “formalin.” The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), an agency of the World Health Organization (WHO), classifies formaldehyde as a Group 1 carcinogen, meaning there is sufficient evidence that it causes cancer in humans.
Where did the affected cabbage go? Still unclear
One of the biggest questions now is where the cabbages treated with formaldehyde were distributed.
As of Aug. 24, Chinese authorities had not disclosed how much cabbage was involved or fully traced where it had been sold and transported. Authorities also had not established that any of the affected produce had been exported overseas. According to The Korea Times, it remained unclear how widely the cabbage had been distributed within China or whether any had been exported to South Korea.
According to Yonhap News Agency, Chinese authorities began tracing the distribution routes of the affected cabbage and ordered local governments nationwide to conduct sampling inspections and market checks of cabbage and other vegetables prone to spoilage. Yonhap noted that Chinese authorities have previously uncovered cases in which suppliers illegally used formaldehyde to slow vegetable spoilage during long-distance transportation, renewing concerns over food-safety oversight throughout China’s agricultural distribution system.
Meanwhile, South Korea’s reliance on Chinese cabbage and Chinese-made kimchi has increased in recent years. Seoul Economic Daily, citing Korea Customs Service statistics, reported that South Korea imported about 20,300 tons of cabbage in 2025, up approximately 491 percent from about 4,135 tons the previous year and setting a record high.
Imports of finished kimchi products have also been substantial, rising from about 240,600 tons in 2021 to 311,600 tons in 2024, with China remaining by far the dominant supplier. According to previously released data from the Korea Customs Service and Yonhap News Agency, South Korea imported 275,600 tons of kimchi in 2017, about 99 percent of it from China. This supply pattern has not fundamentally changed in recent years, with China continuing to be South Korea’s primary source of imported kimchi. Recent customs data put China’s share at about 99 percent of South Korea’s kimchi imports.
Because one of the most common varieties of kimchi in South Korea is baechu kimchi, which is primarily made from napa cabbage, food-safety problems in the Chinese cabbage supply chain are particularly likely to concern Korean consumers. However, there is currently no evidence that the cabbage involved in the Kangbao County incident in Hebei was processed into kimchi and exported to South Korea. The two issues should therefore be treated separately.
South Korea steps up import inspections, testing each packaging facility three times
On Aug. 24, South Korea’s Ministry of Food and Drug Safety said it was working through the South Korean Embassy in China and other channels to determine whether cabbage involved in the formaldehyde incident had been exported to the country, according to Yonhap News Agency
Yonhap News Agency further reported that, following the emergence of the food-safety concerns, the South Korean government had tightened inspections of Chinese-imported cabbage at customs starting Aug. 23. Under the new temporary measures, cabbage imported from different packaging facilities will undergo three separate formaldehyde tests to determine whether any abnormalities are present.
The MFDS said it had not yet confirmed that any of the affected cabbage had been exported to South Korea. At this stage, authorities are therefore focusing on tracing the source and strengthening inspections of imports. If new information about the distribution routes is obtained from Chinese authorities, the South Korean government will consider further measures.
South Korea’s KBS also reported that, as of Aug. 24, Chinese authorities had still not determined the full domestic distribution range of the affected cabbage or confirmed whether any of it had been exported overseas.
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