Ministry of Environment: "Bundle Discounts Not Self-Regulation, Guidelines to Be Supplemented"...Distribution Industry "Expecting Practical Guidelines"

Ministry of Environment: "Collecting Opinions for 3 Months, Implementing System in January"
Distribution Industry: "More Practical Alternatives Needed... Tags and Similar Measures Not Very Meaningful"

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Saeng-hye] As the Ministry of Environment announced its intention to review and supplement the detailed guidelines of the 'Repackaging Ban System,' the distribution industry expressed the urgent need for realistic guidelines.

On the 22nd, the Ministry of Environment announced that it would review the detailed guidelines on standards for product packaging materials and methods (Repackaging Ban System) over three months (July to September), then revise and supplement them for enforcement in January next year.

The enforcement rules prohibiting repackaging were announced for legislative notice in January last year and revised in January after more than 20 consultations with related industries reflecting their opinions. The official notice defining exceptions to the repackaging ban in the enforcement rules' proviso clause was administratively announced in May following research conducted until April.

Repackaging of packaged products refers to additional packaging of products already packaged during production, including ▲ cases where two or more unit products or comprehensive products are packaged together ▲ cases where gifts or promotional items are packaged together. The revised law stipulates that manufacturers, importers, and sellers "must not repackage products that have been packaged during production."

However, this law has caused confusion among the distribution industry and consumers, becoming a hot issue. Concerns arose that repackaging for promotions such as 1+1 price discounts or including gifts and promotional items would be classified as unnecessary packaging for promotion, effectively regulating bundled packaging discounts themselves. There were also worries about price increases due to reduced promotional activities.

The Ministry of Environment plans to discuss all contentious issues over three months and collect opinions through a consultative body composed of manufacturers, distributors, civil society, consumers, and experts.

The confectionery and ice cream industries expressed relief at the Ministry of Environment's stance but said concerns remain. An industry official sighed, "The Ministry explained that only acts of wrapping the entire product in vinyl, etc., are prohibited, and that repackaging products can be promoted by bundling multiple single items or using other methods like bands for price discount promotions. However, bands and similar methods are 100% manual labor, which inevitably increases labor costs." He added, "If bundled packaging becomes difficult, price discounts will practically become impossible."

Another industry official said, "We agree with reducing unnecessary packaging, but there are reasons why companies repackage with boxes or vinyl," and expressed concern that "the Ministry of Environment might be focusing only on environmental protection without fully understanding market conditions, leading to regulations."

Meanwhile, Song Hyung-geun, Director of the Natural Environment Policy Office at the Ministry of Environment, stated, "We will carefully supplement the detailed guidelines to minimize inconvenience to the public and companies and ensure no disruption in implementing the system while resolving the problem of excessive packaging in the distribution process." He added, "The policy goal of reducing bundled packaging materials is not to regulate bundled discounts themselves, and we will prepare more thoroughly to achieve the original goal of reducing excessive packaging."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.