Emart, Coupang, and Other Retailers' Voluntary Agreement... "Posting Capacity Change Information in Stores"

The 12th Consumer Policy Committee Meeting
Discussion on Countermeasures Related to Shlinkflation and More

From now on, large retailers such as Emart, Homeplus, Lotte Mart, and Coupang will submit capacity information of processed foods they sell to the Korea Consumer Agency every quarter and post notices about capacity changes within their stores. This is a follow-up measure to the "Expansion Plan for Information Provision on Capacity Reduction, etc." announced by the Fair Trade Commission on the 13th.

On the 22nd, the Fair Trade Commission reported this plan, which focuses on countermeasures against shrinkflation, to the Consumer Policy Committee. The Consumer Policy Committee is a committee under the Prime Minister, co-chaired by the Prime Minister and a private sector chairperson, composed of ministers from eight related government departments, 15 private members, and the head of the Korea Consumer Agency.

On the 20th, the Korea Consumer Agency signed a voluntary agreement with major large retailers and manufacturers. Large marts such as Emart, Homeplus, and Lotte Mart, department stores including Lotte, Hyundai, and Shinsegae, and distribution platforms like Coupang and Kurly will be required to submit capacity information of products they sell to the Consumer Agency quarterly. Additionally, notices about products with changed capacity will be posted in stores and other spaces. The purpose is to enable consumers to easily recognize changes in product specifications that occur without their knowledge.

The Korea Consumer Agency announced that, as a result of investigating shrinkflation in processed foods managed by Chamgagyeok and products mentioned in media reports, the volume of 37 products across 9 categories has actually decreased over the past year. The photo shows two packs of Baeksul Grill Vienna displayed at Hanaro Mart Yangjae branch in Seocho-gu, Seoul, on the 13th. Photo by Jinhyung Kang aymsdream@

Starting January next year, manufacturers will also be encouraged to participate in the voluntary agreement to prevent shrinkflation. The core of this is that manufacturers actively inform consumers of capacity changes of their products through their websites and notify the Consumer Agency accordingly, so consumers can accurately recognize these changes. Upon receiving information from manufacturers, the Consumer Agency will post it on distribution platforms, Chamgagyeok, Consumer24, and others.

The related notification (Notification Designating Unfair Consumer Transaction Acts by Business Operators) will be revised to prohibit manufacturers from failing to notify consumers when important product details have changed. Accordingly, acts such as reducing capacity or lowering the content ratio of raw materials used in product names will be designated as unfair business practices and subject to fines. Based on the Enforcement Decree of the Framework Act on Consumers, a fine of 5 million KRW will be imposed for the first violation and 10 million KRW for the second violation. In the future, when major raw materials are changed, manufacturers must display "before and after changes" on their websites, sales locations, or packaging for more than three months.

Meanwhile, at the Consumer Policy Committee meeting held that day, chaired by private sector chairperson Kim Seongsuk, four agenda items including the "2024 Comprehensive Consumer Policy Implementation Plan" were reviewed and approved. The meeting also adopted recommendations for consumer-oriented system improvements in areas closely related to daily life, such as improving the evaluation system for the Automated Response System (ARS), improving labeling of clothing care instructions, and revising the standard terms and conditions for new types of gift certificates.

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