Various cookie products are on display at the 2025 Seoul Cafe & Bakery Fair that opened at Coex Magok Lewest in western Seoul, South Korea, 11 December 2025. File. Photo by YONHAP / EPA
Feb. 15 (Asia Today) — Consumer complaints and regulatory actions tied to the popular “Dubai chewy cookie” dessert have surged in recent months, raising safety concerns as the trend spreads rapidly across South Korea.
Rep. Jeong Il-young of the liberal Democratic Party of Korea said data submitted by the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission, the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety and the Korea Consumer Agency show a sharp rise in complaints early this year.
According to the commission’s complaint data, no cases were recorded from January 2024 through October 2025. Complaints began to appear in November 2025 with one case and rose to 15 in December. In January 2026, the figure jumped to 118, accounting for about 6% of all dessert and confectionery complaints that month.
Of the 118 cases filed in January, 90 have been answered and 28 remain under rev