South Korea is weighing whether to extend its label-free packaging policy to imported bottled mineral water, a move that could address domestic producers’ complaints about how their products compete on store shelves.
The current requirement applies to bottled mineral water produced in South Korea. Bottle-cap QR codes now carry product details once printed on packaging, and retailers can scan them at checkout. Retailers received a one-year transition period for individually sold bottles to adapt their checkout systems. Imported bottled mineral water remains outside the policy, as do products legally classified as mixed beverages, including some waters with added minerals.
Using domestic production of about 5.2 billion bottled mineral water units in 2024 as its baseline, the Ministry of Climate, Energy and Environment estimates the rule could prevent about 2,270 metric tons of plastic waste each year. The label-free format also removes the need to peel a label from a bottle before recycling it.
Domestic producers say the difference in packaging rules affects what shoppers see in stores. Kim Do-young, president of Jeju Province Development Corp., the producer of Jeju Samdasoo, said shoppers needed longer to locate the brand after it dropped labels, which he said could influence purchases. Kim supports the policy’s environmental goal and said he would ask authorities to extend the requirement to imports.
Yonhap News Agency reported Sunday that the ministry met with bottled-water importers to seek their views on switching to bottles without plastic labels. The ministry described the session as part of routine industry consultations covering several issues and said it had not decided whether imports would be brought under the policy.
The Samil PwC Research Institute counted 63 bottled mineral water producers and 107 importers in South Korea as of September 2024. No decision to extend the rule to imported products has been made.
