From July, Large Online Shopping Malls Also Required to Comply with the 'Unit Price Display System'

As the kimchi-making season begins in earnest, customers visiting a large supermarket in Seoul on the 19th are purchasing agricultural and marine products such as salted seafood, radishes, and napa cabbage to prepare for kimchi-making. Photo by Jo Yong-jun

Starting from July, the unit price labeling system will also be mandatory for large online shopping malls.

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy announced on the 2nd that the regulatory review for the "Amendment to the Price Labeling System Enforcement Rules" has been completed, and the notice will be issued on the 7th.

The key point of the amendment is that large-scale online shopping malls with an annual transaction amount exceeding 10 trillion won will be subject to the unit price labeling system, just like offline large marts. This measure aims to help consumers easily compare the actual value for the price and to respond to "shrinkflation" (a method of effectively raising prices by reducing quantity while keeping the price the same).

However, a one-year grace period will be given so that vendors within the online malls can organize their systems and prepare accordingly.

The number of items subject to unit price labeling will also expand from 84 to 114. This reflects changes in consumer trends such as the increase in single-person households, preference for convenience foods, and the rise in pet ownership.

Newly included items cover processed foods such as instant rice, pogi kimchi, nuts, and ssamjang, as well as daily necessities and household goods like laundry soap, kitchen towels, hand sanitizers, body wash, lotion, wet wipes, and pet food.

In principle, unit prices should follow standard units such as 100g, 100ml, or 1m, but exceptions can be made using the weight or volume units indicated on the product packaging if applying the standard units is difficult. For example, while the price per 1m is the standard for foil, if sold individually like plate-type paper foil, the price can be displayed per piece.

The amendment will be fully enforced three months after the notice is issued. The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy stated, "We plan to prepare and distribute unit price labeling guidelines during the grace period, reflecting the characteristics of the online distribution environment."