Korea to brief businesses on new hygiene product resale licenses

South Korea's food and drug safety ministry said it will hold a briefing for businesses on Nov. 11 to explain how to register under two new hygiene product licenses that take effect at the end of the year.

The licenses, created by an amendment to the Hygiene Products Control Act, cover consumer refill sales and the repackaging of finished hygiene products for distribution. Under the first category, operators selling products such as cleaners and rinsing aids would let customers take the amount they want without additional packaging. The second covers businesses that open finished goods such as disposable chopsticks and repackage them for sale, a category that applies to 17 hygiene products, excluding wet wipes for restaurants, disposable cotton swabs and tattoo ink.

The ministry said the session was arranged ahead of the new businesses' full launch to help operators understand the rules and to smooth the system's introduction. It will be split into the two categories for tailored guidance, at Space Share Seoul Station Center in Yongsan District, Seoul, with the refill sales briefing from 10:30 a.m. to noon and the repackaging briefing from 2 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. Ministry officials will walk attendees through registration procedures, operator compliance requirements, facility and labeling standards and hygiene training, and will take questions and hear difficulties raised by the industry.

Any operator planning to enter the new businesses can attend without registering in advance, and the ministry will publish the briefing materials online afterward through its Food Safety Korea website.

"We will continue to communicate in various ways to create an environment where the public can consume hygiene products with confidence and to help the industry develop," the ministry said.