Regulations Set 14 Years Ago Remain Unchanged
Meanwhile, OTT Platforms Freely Air Ads
Broadcasting Commission to Discuss with MFDS
Recently, the government announced the 'Media and Content Industry Convergence Development Plan,' which includes measures to lift outdated broadcasting advertising regulations. Among these is the plan to abolish the restriction that prohibited advertisements for hamburgers and pizza during prime time TV broadcasts. The broadcasting industry welcomed the news that the old regulation, maintained for 14 years, will be removed.
Currently, the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety restricts advertising times for high-calorie, low-nutrition foods among children's preferred foods based on the Special Act on Children's Dietary Safety Management. Advertisements for these foods are prohibited during the prime time hours from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m., when children watch a lot of television. This includes snacks, candy, bread, ice cream, cup noodles, hamburgers, and pizza.
The criteria for high-calorie, low-nutrition foods are based on nutritional content. For hamburgers and pizza, products that meet any of the following conditions based on the recommended serving size are subject to advertising restrictions: ▲ foods exceeding 500 kcal and containing less than 9g of protein ▲ foods exceeding 500 kcal and containing more than 600mg of sodium ▲ foods exceeding 4g of saturated fat and containing less than 9g of protein.
Because the criteria are based on nutritional content, whether a product can be advertised varies by product type. For example, McDonald's 'hamburger (266 kcal)' can be advertised, but the 'Big Mac (583 kcal)' cannot. On the other hand, if a product is not classified as a children's preferred food, it is not subject to advertising restrictions, so advertisements for chicken, tteokbokki, and other foods are allowed regardless of type.
The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety states that these regulations were created to prevent childhood obesity and promote a healthy dietary environment. However, since the related regulations were introduced in 2010, the rate of childhood obesity has not significantly decreased, leading to criticism regarding the policy's effectiveness. According to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency, the prevalence of obesity among children and adolescents (ages 6?18) increased by 6 percentage points, from 10.2% in 2010?2012 to 16.2% in 2019?2021.
The broadcasting industry argues that the outdated regulations are stifling the industry. They pointed out that new media platforms such as Over-The-Top (OTT) services and YouTube are not subject to the Broadcasting Act and thus face little regulation, posing an even greater threat. An industry official said, "In an era when children hardly watch television, these excessive regulations, whose effectiveness has not been proven, are outdated. We welcome the move to repeal these regulations now."
Jeon Hye-seon, Director of the Broadcasting Advertising Policy Division at the Korea Communications Commission, said, "Food is just an example, and we plan to comprehensively review various items subject to advertising time restrictions, such as alcoholic beverages and others," adding, "We will discuss easing advertising time restrictions together with the relevant departments."
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