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Selling food in South Korea

In South Korea, food is regulated by the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (MFDS) under the Food Sanitation Act, with labelling and advertising set by the Act on Labeling and Advertising of Foods. Under the Special Act on Imported Food Safety Control, the foreign facility is registered and each consignment declared before customs clearance.

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

Regulator
Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (MFDS)
Composition
Standards and specifications publicly notified by MFDS
Labelling
Act on Labeling and Advertising of Foods
Before import
Foreign food facility registered with MFDS
Each consignment
Import declaration and inspection before customs clearance
Origin
Act on Origin Labeling of Agricultural and Fishery Products

Before a product goes on sale

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

  1. 1Does the food and each additive meet the standards and specifications MFDS has notified? Read more
  2. 2Is the foreign facility registered, and is the importer's business registered with MFDS? Read more
  3. 3Does the label carry the particulars the Act requires? Read more
  4. 4Do the claims on the label and in advertising stay within what the Act allows? Read more
  5. 5Does the country of origin need to be labelled? Read more
  6. 6Who recalls the food, and who is told, if it turns out to be harmful? Read more

The rules, by area

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

Standards, specifications and safety

What may be sold as food in Korea, and the standards it is made and stored to.

  • The Food Sanitation Act (식품위생법) defines "foods" as all types of foods and beverages, other than those taken as medicine.
  • The Minister of Food and Drug Safety determines and publicly notifies standards for manufacturing, processing, using, cooking and storing foods and food additives, and specifications for their ingredients (Article 7). Food that fails them may not be sold, made or imported for sale.
  • Chemical synthetic additives may not be used unless their standards and specifications have been set (Article 6).
  • MFDS compiles these standards in the Code of Foods (Article 14).
  • Genetically modified foods imported or made for the first time undergo a safety examination by MFDS (Article 18), and are labelled as genetically modified where modified DNA or protein remains (Article 12-2).

How we help: Compliant Always reads your specifications and lab reports against the standards that apply, and keeps the evidence for each ingredient and additive with the product. Ask about this

Labelling and advertising

What a food label has to show, and what a label or advert may not claim.

  • The Act on Labeling and Advertising of Foods (식품 등의 표시·광고에 관한 법률) prevails over other statutes on the labelling and advertising of food (Article 3).
  • A food is labelled with its product name, net quantity and ingredient names; the name and location of the business; warnings for consumer safety; and the date of manufacture, use-by date or best before date, with further particulars set by Prime Ministerial Decree (Article 4).
  • Food prescribed by Prime Ministerial Decree carries a nutrition facts label, and some foods a sodium content comparison label (Articles 5 and 6).
  • No label or advert may present a food as preventing or curing disease, as a drug, or as a health functional food, or be false, exaggerated or deceptive (Article 8).
  • Claims must be substantiated; MFDS can ask for the evidence, which is due within 15 days (Article 9).
  • Food without the required label may not be sold, imported, stored or displayed for sale (Article 4(3)).

How we help: Compliant Always sets the particulars beside what your label shows, with the article for each, and keeps the evidence behind each claim with the label version it supports. Ask about this

Import of food

The steps before and at the border for food made outside Korea.

  • The Special Act on Imported Food Safety Control (수입식품안전관리 특별법) takes precedence over other statutes for imported food (Article 4).
  • Before the first import declaration, the importer or the operator of the foreign food facility registers the facility's name, location and items with MFDS. Registration lasts two years and can be extended (Article 5).
  • A business importing and selling imported food registers that business with MFDS (Articles 14 and 15).
  • Each consignment imported for sale is declared to MFDS, and inspected before customs clearance is completed (Articles 20 and 21).
  • The person filing the declaration is responsible for the safety and quality of the food imported, and may not declare food that breaches the standards under Article 7 of the Food Sanitation Act (Article 20(2)).
  • Inspections can be partly or fully omitted where an inspection report from a recognised testing agency is submitted, or for good importers (Article 21(3)).

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

Country of origin

Origin labelling for agricultural and fishery products and the raw materials of processed food.

  • Under the Act on Origin Labeling of Agricultural and Fishery Products (농수산물의 원산지 표시 등에 관한 법률), importers and sellers of products prescribed by Presidential Decree indicate the country of origin (Article 5).
  • For processed products made outside Korea, the origin of the product is indicated; for processed products made in Korea, the origin of their raw materials.
  • False origin labelling is prohibited (Article 6).

How we help: Compliant Always keeps the origin evidence for each raw material with the recipe it goes into, so the origin on the label can be traced back. Ask about this

Business licences, HACCP, traceability and recalls

Who may make and sell food, and what they do when something goes wrong.

  • Food businesses obtain a licence, file a report or register, by type of business and place of business, as the Presidential Decree sets out (Article 37).
  • Manufacturers inspect their own products against the standards and specifications, and report without delay where the results suggest a risk to public health (Article 31).
  • Businesses making foods prescribed by Prime Ministerial Decree apply hazard analysis and critical control points (HACCP) (Article 48).
  • Food traceability can be registered with MFDS; manufacturers of baby food and larger food sellers are required to register, and records are kept at least two years past the use-by date (Articles 49 and 49-2).
  • A business that becomes aware that food it sold is harmful recalls it without delay and reports a recall plan (Article 45; Article 15 of the labelling Act).
  • Consumer reports of foreign substances in food are reported to the authorities without delay (Article 46).

How we help: Compliant Always ties each document to the lot and supplier it came from, so a recall or traceability question is answered from the record. Ask about this

Who answers for what

WhoWhat they answer forHow we help
BrandWhat the label and advertising say, and the evidence that substantiates any claim.The label checked against the particulars, with the evidence behind each claim in one place.
ManufacturerIts licence, self-quality inspection against MFDS standards, and HACCP where required.Specifications, test reports and certificates kept with each product, ready for a customer's form.
ImporterForeign facility registration, business registration, the import declaration, and the safety and quality of what it imports.Registrations and inspection reports read and dated before the goods arrive.
SellerSelling only labelled, compliant food, recalling harmful food, and origin labelling where required.The documents a retailer asks for, answered from the record.

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.

Shipping out of South Korea?

Exporting food from South Korea

Questions businesses ask

Who regulates food in South Korea?
The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (MFDS), under the Food Sanitation Act, the Act on Labeling and Advertising of Foods and the Special Act on Imported Food Safety Control. Licences and inspections are also handled by local governments.
Do I need to register a foreign food factory before exporting to Korea?
Yes. The importer or the facility operator registers the foreign food facility's name, location and items with MFDS before the import declaration. Registration lasts two years and can be extended (Article 5, Special Act on Imported Food Safety Control).
Does every shipment of food need an import declaration?
Food imported for sale or business use is declared to MFDS, as Prime Ministerial Decree sets out, and inspected before customs clearance is completed. Some low-risk cases are excepted (Articles 20 and 21).
What does a Korean food label have to show?
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).
Is a nutrition label required in Korea?
For foods prescribed by Prime Ministerial Decree, yes. The manufacturer, processor or importer places a nutrition facts label, and some foods also carry a sodium content comparison label (Articles 5 and 6).
Can a food label make a health claim in Korea?
A food may not be labelled or advertised as preventing or curing disease, as a drug, or as a health functional food. Claims must be substantiated, and MFDS can ask for the evidence within 15 days (Articles 8 and 9).
Do food adverts need to be reviewed in advance?
A person labelling or advertising food seeks a prior review from a registered voluntary review board, except where only the mandatory label information is stated (Article 10, Act on Labeling and Advertising of Foods).
Do genetically modified foods need a label in Korea?
Yes, where genetically engineered DNA or protein remains after processing. GM foods imported or developed for the first time also undergo an MFDS safety examination (Articles 12-2 and 18, Food Sanitation Act).
Does food sold in Korea need a country of origin label?
For agricultural and fishery products prescribed by Presidential Decree, yes: the product's origin, or for products processed in Korea the origin of their raw materials (Article 5, Act on Origin Labeling of Agricultural and Fishery Products).
What must a business do if food it sold is harmful?
Recall it without delay, or take the measures needed to recall it, and report a recall plan to MFDS or the local government (Article 45, Food Sanitation Act; Article 15, Act on Labeling and Advertising of Foods).
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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