Perform pre-inspection of all packing materials only … Yoon Mi-hyang’s Regulation on Regulation

With the ruling party legislators proposing a bill that requires a prior inspection of packaging materials, the reaction from the industry is strong. Workers at a manufacturer are packing. Hankyung DB

The ruling party, along with Democratic Party lawmakers, pushed for a bill that required all packaging materials to undergo prior inspection, saying it would reduce the generation of packaging waste. This is because there are concerns about side effects, such as the burden of huge inspection costs and delays in launching new products. The bill covers virtually all new and existing products that use packaging materials such as food, cosmetics, detergents, miscellaneous products, quasi-drugs, clothing, electronics, and toys. The industry protests that this is a “pre-inspection of packaging materials”, which is unprecedented in the world.

According to industry sources on the 16th, the Labor and Environment Committee of the National Assembly is scheduled to hold a plenary session on the 17th to propose an amendment to the ‘Law for the Promotion of Saving and Recycling of Resources’ initiated by the member of the Democratic Party Yoon Mi -hyang. According to the legislation, manufacturers, importers and sellers of products in Korea must inspect the packaging material and the packaging method before releasing the product in a specialized agency determined by the Ordinance of the Ministry of the Environment and show the results in the outside of the packaging. . There are 100,000 covered companies.

The bill takes effect one year after its enactment, but existing products must also be inspected within two years of its implementation. If they do not undergo a preliminary examination or mark it as false, they will be imprisoned for up to one year or fined up to 10 million won. Under current law, the Minister of the Environment recommends marking the surface of the packaging material and the packaging method, but does not enforce it.

In the industry, there is a reaction that says, “It’s amazing.” A food industry official said: “Considering there are 60,000 food businesses and 1.2 million registered products, the food industry alone will have to pay at least tens of billions of billions of dollars.” A cosmetic industry official said: “Currently, there are only two institutions that can inspect packaging, the Korea Environment Corporation and the Korean Institute of Construction and Live Testing.” He said: “The inspection of the packaging material is expected to take between a week and a month, so the launch of new products will have a side effect of delay.”

Industry-representative organizations such as the Korea Food Industry Association, the Korea Cosmetics Association, the Federation of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises, the Information Technology Industry Council, and the Industry Promotion Association. Korea Information and Electronic Communication submitted a negative opinion to the National Assembly or Ministry of Environment. The American Chamber of Commerce in Korea and the European Chamber of Commerce in Korea also participated, representing foreign companies.

1.2 million products in the food industry … “How long do you plan to get tested?”
Strong reaction from manufacturing industry to previous ‘regulation of packaging waste’

After ruling party lawmakers pushed for regulations unprecedented in the world, such as the “pre-inspection system for packaging materials” and “mandatory labeling,” an emergency occurred in the industry. There are concerns that it will only lead to delays in the launch of new products, cost burdens for the industry and confusion among consumers, without achieving the legislative goal of “containing packaging waste and promoting recycling”.

○ “Have all packaging materials checked beforehand”

The amendment to the ‘Resource Savings and Recycling Promotion Act (Resource Recycling Act)’ initiated by 12 Democratic Party lawmakers, including Democrat Yoon Mi-hyang, is whether the standards for packaging methods, such as packaging material, the proportion of packaging space and containers, it is mandatory that manufacturers, importers and sellers undergo a preliminary inspection by specialized agencies. On the product packaging, the packaging material, the proportion of packaging space, the packaging number, the inspection date and the name of a specialized inspection institution must be indicated. The packing space ratio refers to the difference in volume between the package and the contents.

In accordance with the legislation, if the packaging of previously released food and beverage products, cosmetics, detergents, toys, stationery, sundries, clothing and small portable electronic products, including new products, are not inspected within two years, the manufacturer, the importer, and the seller of the product will be penalized. You will receive up to. The bill, initiated by Rep. Yoon, was jointly initiated by 11 Democrats, including Rep. Song Ok-ju, chairman of the National Assembly Environmental Work Committee, and Rep. Ahn Ho-young, secretary of the Hwanno Committee. . If it passes the revision of the bill, it will be admitted to the plenary session after passing through the resolution of the Hwanno Committee and the Legislative Judicial Committee of the National Assembly.

○ Rebellion against the industry’s “colostrum packaging regulation”

The industry is protesting being unprecedented packaging regulation. This is because there is concern about the huge burden of inspection costs and delays in launching new products. Currently, the packaging inspection cost per product is around 53,000 won. A food industry official said: “The top six food companies launch only 2,300 new products annually, and just 15,100 existing products that need to be tested will cost tens of billions of dollars.”

The Korea Toy Industry Cooperative, which has a national toy company as a member, also predicted that just 500 toy companies would bear inspection costs of 2.9 billion won per year. A toy association official explained: “There are additional costs, such as having to re-produce the existing packaging or affix a sticker.”

A packaging industry official said: “It is a problem that hundreds of packaging material companies that deliver, not just one company, have to change the production process,” and said: “I doubt that the packaging material companies with annual sales of less than 1 billion won, they can comply with government regulations. “

○ Concerns about delays in new products and information leakage

Product development costs are also expected to increase. According to the amendment, manufacturers of products such as food, cosmetics, electronics and toys are required to develop packaging materials and conduct a self-inspection, as well as send finished products made through formal production lines to an authorized agency for inspection. . Additional production is possible only after passing this; otherwise, all manufactured product must be discarded for inspection.

A food industry official said: “To undergo a pre-inspection, you must produce a finished product, not a sample, and send it to an authorized agency.” “It only takes 1 million won to make the copper plate to seal the packing material, and there is a minimal amount of production when the factory is running, so if the inspection fails, the cost burden increases.”

The inspection period is expected to take at least a week to a month, delaying the launch of new products, resulting in further damage to consumers. Currently, there are only two places where preliminary inspection of packaging materials is possible: the Korea Environment Corporation of the Ministry of Environment and the Korea Institute of Construction and Life Testing of the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Energy. An electronics industry official said: “In the industry that produces small quantities of multiple products, it is regulation that suffers losses.” “As industry competition to develop fast products to meet consumer trends becomes impossible, the damage will fall to consumers.”

Product information leakage is also a cause for concern. Kang Hyung-deok, head of the manufacturing innovation division of the Federation of Small and Medium Enterprises, noted: “In a situation where new product information is important (through mandatory prior inspection), if the information leaks out to competitors, causing enormous damage to the company’s business activities. ” For confectionery that can be broken by external shocks during distribution, or kimchi that can change in volume due to fermentation, the ‘packing space ratio’ can change after preliminary inspection, so manufacturers and Sellers can be mistaken as criminals. It is also an obstacle that it is difficult to label small capacity foods (less than 30 g) on ​​the packaging itself.

Reporter Ahn Dae-gyu / Kim Bo-ra [email protected]