The 35-year-old baker, using an alias, had claimed on a popular website that he found the rodent in a loaf that he bought from a leading bakery franchise just before last Christmas.
Kim, who owned a branch of another bakery franchise at Pyeongtaek, 70 kilometres (45 miles) south of Seoul, admitted he fabricated the case to hurt his rival store`s reputation and boost business at his own shop.
"A heavy sentence is unavoidable for the defendant because he had intentionally planned the crime, causing losses to the rival bakery`s business and spreading distrust about food safety among the public," the Seoul Central District Court said in a ruling quoted by Yonhap news agency.
(KR-DLN/H-AK)
Editor: Aditia Maruli Radja
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