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4.157. [Ministry of Food and Drug Safety] MFDS continues to develop labelling standards for food including livestock products, while regional offices inspect imported foods and enforce labelling requirements upon arrival; (...). All imported food products are required to carry legible Korean language labels. Labelling requirements include (...) genetically modified (GM) labelling for unprocessed agricultural products and processed food.

4.159. GM corn, soybeans, cotton, rapeseed, sugar beets, and alfalfa (including sprouts originating from these items), as well as foods suitable for consumption containing these products and notified as such by MFDS, remain subject to mandatory GMO labelling requirements. GMO foods for which identity preservation documents or government-issued certificates were submitted are exempted from GMO labelling requirements. Concerning food from the United States, Korea accepts a notarized self-declaration, instead of requiring full documentation, to certify products that are exempt from biotechnology requirements. Importers must keep records for up to two years to prove that unlabelled foods subject to GMO labelling requirements are GMO free. The Living Modified Organisms (LMO) Act (Section 3.3.3.1) continues to provide standards required for the labelling of biotech crops and food, including processed food products containing corn, soybeans, cotton, canola, and sugar beets with 3% or higher GMO content. In 2017, MFDS implemented new biotech labelling requirements that expanded mandatory labelling to all detectable products. Soy, corn, cotton, canola, sugar beets, alfalfa, and any newly approved GM crops or food products containing these crops are subject to the biotech labelling requirement. If detectable biotech DNA is present in the final product, biotech labelling is required. If an imported product arrives without appropriate supporting documents or a test certificate, it can either be labelled as GM food or tested by MFDS accredited laboratories in Korea prior to customs clearance. If the product tests negative, it may be exempt from biotech labelling.

4.161. [Ministry of Food and Drug Safety] MFDS's Packaging and Container Code provides general standards for equipment, containers, and packaging for food products and specifications for individual packaging materials. In 2019, the MOE published partial amendments to the Rule of the Act on the Promotion of Saving and Recycling of Resources to promote recycling and reduce unnecessary waste. These amendments require packages to be evaluated, graded, and labelled for the recyclability of packaging materials.

4.163. (...) In addition, [Ministry of Food and Drug Safety] MFDS sets and implements regulations governing safety evaluations of agricultural products that have been enhanced through biotechnology and labelling requirements for both agricultural products and processed food products manufactured using GMO ingredient.

4.169. During the review period, legislation on the marketing of genetically modified agricultural products (GMAPs) remained unchanged and continues to apply equally to domestic and imported GMAPs. The 2008 Act on Transboundary Movement of Living Modified Organisms (LMO Act) implements the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety to the Convention on Biological Diversity. Imports of biotech grains, as well as genetically engineered animals, are regulated under the Food Sanitation Act and the LMO Act, which was revised in December 2017 and became effective in December 2018, to amend the scope of "Contained Use" to expand from GM microorganisms to GMOs (including animals and plants); in December 2018, the Enforcement Decree, the Enforcement Regulations, and the Consolidated Notice were revised simultaneously to reflect the revised LMO Act. The LMO Act was last revised in December 2018 to improve the composition of the Bio-Safety Commission and became effective in June 2019.

4.170. Food safety and environmental risk assessments (ERAs) are mandatory on biotechnology crops and LMOs. As indicated by the authorities at the previous Review, in accordance with CODEX guidelines and OECD Biosafety Consensus Documents, safety of LMOs for food is evaluated under the principle of substantial equivalence based on scientifically valid and justified data, such as (...) the nutrients of the GM food in question and its non-GM counterpart. (...) MFDS remains responsible for risk assessment for human health of food related GMAPs. It has authority to conduct mandatory safety assessments to evaluate GMOs in products used for human consumption. The Rural Development Administration (crop cultivation environment), the National Institute of Ecology overseen by the MOE (natural ecosystem), and the National Fisheries Research and Development Institute (marine ecosystem) are responsible for ERAs. (...) So far, no GM crops have been grown in Korea and, therefore, the process for crop and food-approval has been applied only to imported products. By 31 March 2021, MAFRA had completed 169 applications for review of environmental risks of LMOs for industrial use in agroforestry and livestock sectors, including soybeans (29), maize (87), cotton (31), canola (17), and alfalfa (5).

4.171. Korea implements the Advance Informed Agreement Procedure for the first intentional transboundary movement of an LMO for intentional introduction into the environment of a country, as well as labelling requirements for GMOs and LMOs (Section 3.3.2.6).

4.200. Price controls remain in place in specific areas. As indicated by the authorities at the time of the previous Review, in principle, prices are determined by the market with no intervention from the Government except for in the following exceptional circumstances. (...) Second, in case of urgent financial or economic crises or other extraordinary circumstances including natural disasters and emergencies at home or abroad, an emergency demand and supply adjustment measure can be adopted. (...).

4.201. Since May 2017, under the New and Renewable Energy (Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS)), and the Renewable Fuel Mix Standard (RFS) Management and Operation Guidelines promulgated by MOTIE, a fixed-price contract system has been implemented in parallel with the spot market trading system to reduce volatility risks associated with movements in the price of RECs and the system marginal price (SMP) on the spot market, with the objective of promoting investment in new and renewable energy projects (photovoltaic energy sources).

4.217. (...) The 2005 Act on Encouragement of Purchase of Green Products (known as the Law on the Promotion of Environmentally Friendly Products) requires government agencies and SOEs to purchase environmentally friendly products; as of 2021, it applied to 47 central government agencies (45 in 2015), 243 local government bodies (243 in 2015), 151 public enterprises, 96 local public enterprises, 95 quasi-governmental organizations (Section 3.3.5.2), 17 education authorities, 6 other special corporations, 35 local medical centers, and 218 other public institutions (in total 849 agencies in 2021 and 765 in 2015). [295] Although the Law makes mandatory the purchase of environmentally friendly products, it provides exceptions for quality and availability reasons, as well as emergency procurement needs.

[295] In 2017, green product procurement over the total expenditure was 47.5%, for which total expenditure on green products amounted to KRW 3.3 trillion; the same year, 97.4% of the 910 government agencies fulfilled that obligation. (...).