This article was published on May 13, 2025, at 2:53 p.m. on the ChosunBiz RM report site.
The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety is facing controversy as it extends the deadline for a pilot project on personal transactions of health supplements until December 31, 2025, and revises guidelines to relax regulations. Due to multiple instances of guideline violations found during the pilot project, there are suggestions that safety measures are needed to ensure the safety and quality of the products.
According to the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety on the 13th, the guidelines have relaxed the list of permissible products from 'expiration date of 6 months or more' to 'within the expiration date.' This means that products with only a week left before expiration can also be traded. In the past, transactions were limited to 'a total of 10 times and under 300,000 won per individual,' but moving forward, transactions can occur up to 10 times without a monetary limit. Product labeling requirements have also changed; previously all labeling items had to be clearly shown, but now only 'a health functional food certification mark or wording' needs to be visible.
The issue is that the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety's revised guidelines have been pointed out as needing improvements for some time. A survey conducted last September by the Korea Consumer Agency revealed 571 cases of illegal transactions found in online communities, of which 294 cases (51.5%) were violations related to health supplements. The violation types included sales of opened products (91 cases), products nearing expiration (44 cases), unverified labeling (34 cases), and transactions of products that require refrigeration or freezing at room temperature (7 cases).
For example, if a consumer looking to sell health supplements posts in a category other than 'health supplements,' they can publish their listing without entering essential details such as the expiration date. Moreover, it has been noted that it is difficult to verify whether the restrictions on the number of transactions (10 times, 300,000 won) between individuals are being properly adhered to. This is because if a consumer lists multiple products in a single post, it becomes challenging to monitor the actual number of transactions that have occurred.
The current guidelines from the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety did not include supplementary measures for these violation cases. Instead, there are plans to expand the permissible trading platforms to include 'Joongonara' and others that expressed interest in participating in the pilot project. However, additional information provision items like 'how to report in case of abnormal incidents' and 'guidance on where to report when purchasing defective food,' as well as 'prohibitions on overseas direct purchases of food and medicines,' have been added.
In response, the Korea Pharmaceutical Association argued that the pilot project for personal transactions of health supplements should be immediately halted. The association stated, “Despite continuous violations of compliance items in the second-hand trading platform, it is irresponsible administrative decision to extend the pilot project period by relaxing compliance rules without any improvements or supplementary procedures, ignoring public health.” The association explained that in monitoring the pilot project over the past year, frequent violations of the guidelines, such as sales of unlicensed presumed products and sales of opened packaging, occurred.
An industry insider said, “Health supplements are special foods sold under the premise of functionality and quality, so their distribution and storage condition can directly impact consumer health,” and emphasized that more proactive safety measures, such as strengthening platform responsibilities and establishing transaction verification procedures, are necessary before formalizing the system. The potential for side effects in the regulatory blind spot raises concerns about determining responsibility, indicating the need for a more cautious approach.
Some positively evaluate that allowing personal transactions will provide consumers with opportunities to purchase health supplements at lower prices and easily dispose of them. According to the Korea Health Supplements Association, the domestic health supplement market size was recorded at 6.44 trillion won last year. Regarding distribution channels, internet malls accounted for 69.8% of the market. Among internet malls, open markets and social commerce had the highest share at 32.3%. Pharmacies accounted for only 4.2%.
The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety maintains that as of now, no significant abnormal cases or safety issues related to the trading products have been reported since the pilot project was implemented. The Ministry further stated, “We have rationalized the criteria considering consumer price accessibility and transaction convenience,” adding that “the revision of these guidelines is to strengthen consumer protection and expand choices.”
The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety plans to continuously monitor major platforms where personal transactions are conducted until the end of this year and to strengthen related education and publicity activities to prevent violations and damage caused by false or exaggerated advertising.