As an accompanying measure to the amended Rules on Standards for Product Packaging Materials and Methods (the “Product Packaging Rules”) that, in principle, prohibit repackaging of products, effective as of July 1, 2020, the Ministry of Environment (the “MOE”) announced an administrative notice for a proposed Notification of Exceptions to the Repackaging of Packaged Products (the “Proposed Notification”) on October 8, 2020.  In consideration of the potential impacts on relevant industries (e.g., modifications to packaging facilities and depletion of existing packaging materials), the MOE will implement the Proposed Notification on January 1, 2021 with a three-month grace period until the end of March 2021.  Small or medium enterprises will be subject to this new regulation from July 2021. 

Below is a key point summary of the amendments under the Product Packaging Rules and the Proposed Notification:
 

• In principle, repackaging of packaged product is prohibited.  Specifically, Article 11 of the Product Packaging Rules provides that (i) a manufacturer or importer, or (ii) a person who sells packaged products in a large-scale store (as defined under Article 2, Item 3 of the Distribution Industry Development Act) or a store sized 33m² or more is prohibited from manufacturing, importing or selling packaged products by repackaging them.  

• However, the proviso of Article 11 of the Product Packaging Rules also provides exceptions in cases where (i) repackaging is unavoidable, and (ii) it falls under any of the exceptional circumstances as defined in the notification published by the Minister of Environment.  In this regard, the Proposed Notification clarifies the scope of prohibited repackaging and the exceptions as follows:

  • Definition of Repackaging (Article 2 of the Proposed Notification): Any packaging with synthetic resin film or sheet when:
    (a)  distributors or sales agencies additionally bundle final products manufactured in factories or imported products (including those packaged by the importer);
    (b)  products are packaged together for promotional events, such as “buy one, get one free” offers or gifts (unless the product is a component of the main product), temporarily or for certain distribution channels; or
    (c)  three or fewer individually sold unit products are packaged together (except for small products with a package content of 30ml or less).
  • Exceptions (Article 4 of the Proposed Notification): (i) primary foods, (ii) bundling of products that are not sold individually to sell them as a unit product, (iii) gift packaging at the request of a buyer, and (iv) cases where the MOE acknowledges repackaging as unavoidable for transportation, hygiene or safety reasons, or considers the packaging methods and materials as well as the number of time it is packaged to be identical to those of the original packaging.

• Since there may be instances where it is unclear whether a packaging constitutes a prohibited form of repackaging, the Proposed Notification provides a legal basis for the MOE to form a Repackaging Decision Committee consisting of representatives from the MOE, industry and consumer organizations and experts in related fields (Article 5 of the Proposed Notification). 

• Violation of this prohibition may result in an administrative fine of up to KRW 3 million pursuant to Article 41 (2) 1 of the Act on the Promotion of Saving and Recycling of Resources.