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Selling soft drinks and beverages in South Korea

In South Korea, beverages are foods under the Food Sanitation Act, so the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (MFDS) standards, the Act on Labeling and Advertising of Foods and the imported food rules apply. High-caffeine foods have extra limits on sale in schools and on advertising aimed at children. Containers fall under recycling law.

Updated · Each section links to the official source it comes from

Regulator
Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (MFDS)
Beverages are
Foods: "all types of foods and beverages"
Labelling
Act on Labeling and Advertising of Foods
High-caffeine foods
Not sold in schools; advertising limits
Imports
Facility registration and import declaration
Packaging
Recycling obligations and separate discharge mark

Before a product goes on sale

The questions to answer, in the order they usually come up.

  1. 1Does the drink meet the MFDS standards and specifications for its type? Read more
  2. 2Does the label carry the required particulars and any nutrition label? Read more
  3. 3Is it a high-caffeine food, and where may it be sold and advertised? Read more
  4. 4Is the foreign facility registered, and is each consignment declared? Read more
  5. 5Does the container carry a separate discharge mark, and who pays for recycling? Read more

The rules, by area

What each area covers, the texts that set it, and what the official pages say.

Food standards

Beverages are food, and meet the standards MFDS sets for food.

  • The Food Sanitation Act defines "foods" as all types of foods and beverages, other than those taken as medicine (Article 2).
  • MFDS publicly notifies standards for manufacturing, processing, using and storing foods and food additives, and specifications for their ingredients; food that fails them may not be sold or imported for sale (Article 7).
  • Manufacturers inspect their products against the standards and specifications (Article 31).
  • Containers and packages meet the MFDS standards and specifications for them (Article 9).

How we help: Compliant Always reads your specifications and lab reports against the standards that apply, and keeps them with the product and lot. Ask about this

Labelling and advertising

What a beverage label shows, and what it may not claim.

  • Product name, net quantity and ingredient names; the business name and location; warnings for consumer safety; and the date of manufacture, use-by or best before date (Article 4).
  • A nutrition facts label on foods prescribed by Prime Ministerial Decree (Article 5).
  • No label or advert may present a drink as preventing or curing disease, as a drug, or as a health functional food (Article 8).
  • The Special Act on Safety Management of Children's Dietary Lifestyle defines "high-caffeine foods" as foods labelled as containing high levels of caffeine under the labelling standards of Article 4 of the labelling Act.

How we help: Compliant Always sets the particulars beside what your label shows, with the article for each. Ask about this

High-caffeine foods and children

Extra limits on the sale and advertising of high-caffeine foods.

  • MFDS prohibits the sale of high-caffeine foods, such as coffee, in schools, and may restrict their sale in exemplary business establishments (Article 8, Special Act on Safety Management of Children's Dietary Lifestyle).
  • Advertisements for high-caffeine foods among children's favourite foods, on radio, television and the Internet, may not offer free toys or other non-food items that entice children to buy (Article 10).
  • MFDS may limit the advertising time of, or prohibit, television advertising of those foods (Article 10(2)).
  • MFDS may recommend that makers and importers use a visible red colour on high-caffeine foods so children can recognise them (Article 12-2).

How we help: Compliant Always flags a drink labelled as high in caffeine, so the sales channels and advertising limits that follow are on record with it. Ask about this

Import

How imported drinks come into Korea.

  • The foreign food facility is registered with MFDS before the import declaration; registration lasts two years (Article 5, Special Act on Imported Food Safety Control).
  • The importer registers its business with MFDS (Article 15).
  • Each consignment is declared and inspected before customs clearance is completed (Articles 20 and 21).

How we help: Compliant Always keeps the facility registration, declarations and inspection reports with each lot, and shows what expires before the next shipment. Ask about this

Packaging and recycling

Rules for the bottle, can or carton.

  • Manufacturers and importers of products and packaging prescribed by Presidential Decree recover and recycle the waste from them, or pay contributions to a recycling mutual aid cooperative (Article 16, Act on the Promotion of Saving and Recycling of Resources).
  • Products and packaging prescribed by Presidential Decree carry a separate discharge mark under guidelines from the Minister of Climate, Energy and Environment (Article 14).
  • Producers with recycling obligations meet the criteria for the quality and structure of packaging materials, such as colour, weight and ease of recycling (Article 9-2).

How we help: Compliant Always keeps your packaging specifications and the recycling evidence with each product. Ask about this

Who answers for what

WhoWhat they answer forHow we help
BrandWhat the label and advertising say, including caffeine labelling.The label read against the particulars, with the evidence in one place.
ManufacturerMeeting the MFDS standards and inspecting its own products.Specifications and test reports kept with each lot.
ImporterFacility and business registration, and the import declaration.Registrations and inspection reports read and dated before the goods arrive.
Producer with recycling obligationsRecovery and recycling of its packaging, or contributions instead.Packaging specifications and recycling records kept with the product.

National ministries and local government

Product law in South Korea is national. Each Act names the minister in charge, such as the Minister of Food and Drug Safety for food and cosmetics, and the Minister of Trade, Industry and Resources for electrical, consumer and children's products.

Many licences, reports and inspections under those Acts are handled by a Mayor or Do Governor or the head of a Si/Gun/Gu, so the local office named in the Act is often the one a business deals with.

Questions businesses ask

Are soft drinks regulated as food in South Korea?
Yes. The Food Sanitation Act defines "foods" as all types of foods and beverages, other than those taken as medicine, so MFDS food standards and labelling rules apply.
What does a drink label have to show in Korea?
Product name, net quantity and ingredient names; the business name and location; warnings for consumer safety; and the date of manufacture, use-by or best before date, plus particulars set by Prime Ministerial Decree (Article 4, Act on Labeling and Advertising of Foods).
Can energy drinks be sold in Korean schools?
No. The sale of high-caffeine foods, such as coffee, in schools is prohibited (Article 8, Special Act on Safety Management of Children's Dietary Lifestyle).
What is a high-caffeine food in Korea?
A food labelled as containing high levels of caffeine under the labelling standards of Article 4 of the Act on Labeling and Advertising of Foods (Article 2, Special Act on Safety Management of Children's Dietary Lifestyle).
Are there advertising limits for caffeinated drinks?
Adverts for high-caffeine foods among children's favourite foods may not offer free toys or other non-food items that entice children, and MFDS may limit or prohibit their television advertising (Article 10, Special Act on Safety Management of Children's Dietary Lifestyle).
Can a drink label claim health benefits?
A food may not be labelled or advertised as preventing or curing disease, as a drug, or as a health functional food, and claims must be substantiated (Articles 8 and 9, Act on Labeling and Advertising of Foods).
How are imported drinks cleared in Korea?
The foreign facility is registered with MFDS, the importer's business is registered, and each consignment is declared to MFDS and inspected before customs clearance (Special Act on Imported Food Safety Control).
Who pays for recycling drinks packaging in Korea?
Manufacturers and importers of products and packaging prescribed by Presidential Decree recover and recycle the waste, or pay contributions to a recycling mutual aid cooperative (Article 16, Act on the Promotion of Saving and Recycling of Resources).
Does drinks packaging need a recycling mark?
Products and packaging prescribed by Presidential Decree carry a separate discharge mark under guidelines from the Minister of Climate, Energy and Environment (Article 14, Act on the Promotion of Saving and Recycling of Resources).
How does Compliant Always help with selling in South Korea?
Our team reads the rules for the markets you sell in, from Korean law and the regulators' own pages. Compliant Always shows which apply to your product, keeps the documents behind each one ready, and watches the sources for changes. It shows what the requirements say and what your documents show; you decide.

Sources

Compliant Always is a product of Lettuce Labs LLC. It shows what requirements say and what your documents show. It is not legal advice, and you decide.

Tell us what you make, and we will show you the rules for it.

Name the product and the markets you sell in. We will come back to you with what applies in South Korea and what your paperwork needs to show.

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