English translation of the original Korean report. Images and source documents may contain Korean text.

Seoul Milk Cooperative, led by Chairman Moon Jin-seop, sued a consumer for defamation after they pointed out changes in the ingredient labeling of strawberry milk, but the police decided not to refer the case for prosecution.

The police determined that the post was based on actual product labeling and that there was insufficient evidence to suggest the author knew it was false or intended to slander the company.

According to a post shared by the consumer on the 11th and media reports, the consumer posted a comparison of the ingredient labeling of Seoul Milk’s strawberry milk before and after the change on an online community in September last year.

The consumer stated that they learned about the lawsuit after being contacted by the police in September this year and subsequently attended an investigation.

The previous packaging stated the raw milk content was 75.7%. In the reformulated product, purified water was placed before raw milk, and the specific raw milk content was omitted.

In principle, ingredients are listed in descending order of usage, so the order of the two ingredients can be compared, but the exact percentage of raw milk in the new product cannot be determined by the order alone.

According to the notice of investigation results released through media reports, the police determined that even if there were some exaggerated expressions in the post, it was difficult to view the entire post as groundless falsehoods.

Regarding the mention of cost reduction, the police also found that the author had reasons to believe previously published media reports were true.

■ Seoul Milk denies cost-cutting purpose… does not disclose formulation ratios before and after the change.

Seoul Milk explained that it changed the formulation of its strawberry milk, taking into account the raw milk supply situation and the product’s taste.

It stated that skim milk powder made from domestic raw milk at its own factory was dissolved in water and mixed with raw milk, and denied allegations that the formulation was changed to reduce costs.

The response released to the media did not include figures regarding the mixing ratios of raw milk, purified water, and skim milk powder before and after the change, or how much the manufacturing cost per product had changed.

Seoul Milk explained that posts containing slang and exaggerated expressions spread across various anonymous communities, which could have increased misunderstandings regarding the product’s manufacturing method and price.

Its position is that it sought a legal judgment to minimize damage to dairy farmers and the brand, as it deemed it difficult to explain each point individually through comments.

■ Moon Jin-seop re-elected by direct vote of members… Compensation for key executives totals 498 million won.

Seoul Milk is a cooperative where dairy farmer members directly vote to elect the chairman. Chairman Moon Jin-seop, who worked in the dairy industry, served as the head of the livestock section in Paju City and as a delegate, director, and auditor for Seoul Milk.

In March 2019, he was elected as the 20th chairman with 876 votes (56.7%), and in March 2023, he was re-elected as the 21st chairman with 908 votes (63.7%).

As of the end of 2025, there are 1,394 members. According to the 2025 audit report, the compensation for key executives, including the chairman, standing director, and standing auditor, totaled 498 million won, consisting of 432 million won in salary, 30 million won in bonuses, and 36 million won in retirement benefits.

All three items are the same amounts as in 2024. The audit report does not separately list Chairman Moon’s individual salary and bonuses.

Seoul Milk’s operating revenue in 2025 was 2.1008 trillion won, down 1.1% from the previous year, and its operating profit was 43.8 billion won, a 23.6% decrease. Net income dropped 94.0% from 43.1 billion won to 2.6 billion won.

One factor in the decline in net income was that the profit from the disposal of tangible assets decreased from 41 billion won to 1.2 billion won.

Operating revenue for the first half of this year was 1.0672 trillion won, an increase of 3.5% compared to the same period last year. As selling, general, and administrative expenses decreased by approximately 11.1 billion won, operating profit increased from 9.1 billion won to 19.2 billion won.

Reflecting net costs of 32.4 billion won for education support projects, the company recorded a net loss of 9.7 billion won. Compared to the net loss of 21.1 billion won in the first half of last year, the deficit narrowed by 11.4 billion won.

The 2025 audit report also listed two major lawsuits in which Seoul Milk is a party.

Seoul Milk filed for an injunction against sales, claiming that Namyang Dairy’s ‘Morning Milk’ was similar to its own ‘Morning Juice,’ and the litigation amount stated in the audit report was 446 million won. The Patent Court dismissed Seoul Milk’s appeal on January 22 of this year.

In a dispute surrounding the failed acquisition of a milk carton business, supplier Samyoung filed a claim against Seoul Milk for the return of a deposit and other matters.

The litigation amount stated in the audit report was 1.106 billion won. According to subsequent reports, Seoul Milk’s victory was finalized as the Supreme Court dismissed Samyoung’s appeal on April 2 of this year.

Regarding the recent strawberry milk lawsuit, Seoul Milk explained to the media that it took issue with expressions in the post claiming that excessive water was added and that cheap skim milk powder was used to reduce costs.

The cooperative stated that there have been no specific additional legal actions taken against the consumer following the decision not to refer the case for prosecution.