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On March 14, 2025, South Korea notified the WTO via G/TBT/N/KOR/1266 of proposed amendments to the Food Sanitation Act concerning GMO labeling. The notification was open for comments within 60 days of promulgation.
Key proposed changes are summarized below
Strengthen mandatory GMO labeling
Under current regulations, GMO labeling applies only when genetically modified DNA or proteins remain in the final product. As per the current Food Sanitation Act and Labeling Standards for Genetically Modified Foods, genetically modified agricultural, livestock, and marine products approved for food use, as well as foods and food additives manufactured with these products as raw materials and contain genetically modified DNA or protein in the final products must indicate GMO labeling. This means that if foods are manufactured with genetically modified materials but do not retain residual genetically modified DNA or proteins after manufacturing, they are not subject to GMO labeling.
To enhance transparency and ensure consumer access to accurate food information, MFDS proposed to mandate the GMO labeling for all foods manufactured using genetically modified agricultural, livestock, and fishery raw materials, regardless of whether genetically modified DNA or proteins remain in the final products, with exception for unintended addition.
Improve the threshold for unintended GMO presence
According to the current Labeling Standards for Genetically Modified Foods, when genetically modified raw materials constitute no more than 3% of the total raw materials, products are deemed as containing unintended genetically modified materials, and are exempt from GMO labeling.
Under the proposed amendment, a product may be considered an "unintentionally mixed food" only if the proportion of genetically modified agricultural, livestock, or marine raw materials is 9/1000 (0.9%) or less. This applies to two distinct scenarios:
A food, etc. in which the proportion of genetically modified agricultural, livestock, or marine raw materials is 9/1000 or less.
A genetically modified food, etc. in which the proportion of genetically modified agricultural, livestock, or marine raw materials in the total raw materials is 9/1000 or less.
In these cases, products may be exempt from the GMO labeling requirement. However, businesses must provide supporting documents to prove their compliance with the threshold. They must also indicate the proportion of genetically modified materials on the label. Notwithstanding, certain cases designated by the MFDS may still require GMO labeling, even if genetically modified DNA or proteins are not detected in final products.
Introduce the labeling of non-GM foods.
Currently, labeling products as "Non-GM Food" or "GMO-Free" is prohibited in South Korea to prevent misleading claims and unfair competition. But the proposed amendment allows manufacturers to label products as "non-genetically modified" if products are exclusively made from non-genetically modified raw materials, or if they are unintentionally mixed foods with effective supporting documents and proper labeling of proportion of genetically modified materials.
Other proposals
Mandatory disposal orders and administrative penalties for the violations of GMO or non-GMO labeling standards, environmental impact assessments for genetically modified food,etc.
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