According to The Guardian, a Seoul court fined the operator of restaurant Evett and its CEO over a dessert with ants that are not permitted for consumption under South Korea’s food safety law. The company was fined 10 million won, and the CEO 15 million won.
Seoul Western District Court judge Lee Se-chan said the violation was “not at all minor”, citing the length of time the dish was sold, its use to promote the restaurant, and tests showing heavy metals in the ants above the permissible level. He also took into account the guilty plea, the CEO’s lack of a prior conviction under the food safety law, the lower-than-prosecutors-claimed estimate of the number of ants served, and the fact that the restaurant had already stopped using them.
Prosecutors asked for a one-year prison term for the CEO and a 20 million won fine for the company. In South Korea, only 10 types of insects are allowed, and an unapproved species requires temporary permission from the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety; the agency began its inspection after mentions of the desserts in blogs and on social media.
According to the prosecution, the restaurant had been ordering dried ants by mail from the United States and Thailand since April 2021 and, until January 2025, served three to five insects on top of sikhye sorbet — a Korean sweet rice drink. Prosecutors said 12,274 customers received the dessert, 49,096 ants were used, and total revenue came to about 120 million won.
The defense disputed that calculation and argued that about 60% of guests agreed to the add-on when it was offered. The restaurant also said ants were used in only a small part of its 15-menu lineup and that the ingredient is used in Denmark, the United Kingdom, and Australia.
Evett was founded by Australian chef Joseph Lidgerwood, who serves as the restaurant’s public face, but he was not charged and was not brought into the case. His wife, Jinny Kim, who is registered as the operator company’s CEO, was named in the case; the parties have seven days to appeal.
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