• Maeli Dairies Co Ltd leads the organic segment in South Korea with a value share of 41.2% in 2023, followed by National Agricultural Cooperative Federation with a value share of 8.4% and Seoul Dairy Cooperative with a share of 5.5%. 
• South Korea ranks 24th globally in terms of market size, with a value of US$400.2 mn in 2023, despite being the fourth largest consumer market in Asia Pacific, which indicates that per capita demand for organic products in South Korea is still relatively small.

• Organic products in South Korea represent roughly 0.6% of global demand and just 3.0% of the market in the Asia Pacific region, recording a per capita expenditure of US$7.6 in 2023. 
• Over the forecast period from 2023 to 2028, the South Korean organic products market is expected to post a slight decline, with a value CAGR of -0.1% in 2023 constant prices with fixed USD exchange rates.

• The Organic Packaged Food and Beverages category in South Korea registered a value decline of 8.0% in 2023 in current prices to record a market size of US$400.2 million. 
• During the historic period of 2019-2023, the Organic Packaged Food market size contracted at a CAGR of -1.8% in current prices. For the forecast period from 2023 to 2028, the market is expected to remain stagnant with a projected CAGR -0.3% in constant prices.
• Organic Beverages also experienced a decline with a -2.8% CAGR in current prices but is expected to recover, growing at a 1.4% CAGR in constant prices over the forecast period.
• Stagnation in the Organic Packaged Food market was driven by a negative performance of key categories such as Organic Staple Foods and Organic Snacks, which recorded historic current CAGRs of -9.3% and -9.4% respectively.
• Within Organic Beverages, despite the overall category's negative performance, Organic Hot Drinks achieved a 4.1% current CAGR over the historic period, partially offsetting losses in the broader category.

• As organic products have benefited from an increasing health concern among the population, the organic claim has become one the most popular health and wellness attribute in categories like Snacks, Dairy Products and Alternatives and Cooking Ingredients and Meals, as these products are often seen by consumers as being less harmful to health and more natural than standard products.
• Organic products have also gained premium status as consumers increasingly seek simplicity and reassurance that the items they purchase are not overly processed, something they often associate with organic certification. While consumers may buy fewer products overall, they are willing to spend more per item if it is perceived as healthier, higher quality, or more sustainable.

• Maeil Dairies Co Ltd is largely leading the Organic Packaged Food category with a market share of 44.4% in 2023, growing 4.2 p.p. from the previous year. The company is the pioneer in organic milk in the country. It also has recently leveraged its position as the top organic player in snacks, with its ice cream brand Sangha. By incorporating organic cream and organic sugar into its ice cream, it aims to emphasise the premium nature of its offerings and cater to the growing demand for organic products in the market.
• Binggrae Co Ltd lead Organic Beverages in 2023 with 18.5% market share, thanks to its leading position in organic juice with its T'aom brand. However, the juices category in general has faced growth challenges, as packaged juices, are increasingly perceived as unhealthy due to their high sugar content and calories.

• In the forecast period, sales of health and wellness soft drinks are expected to continue to benefit from an increased consumer focus on products which might help to maintain good general health and prevent health problems and illnesses. As a result, Organic Soft Drinks in South Korea are expected to reach US$20.5 million at constant 2023 prices by 2028. Organic RTD Tea is expected to see particularly dynamic growth with a constant 35.6% CAGR over the forecast period and estimated sales of US$6.2 million in 2028. 
• Over the forecast period, sales of Organic Staple Foods are expected to grow steadily, with retail sales projected to rise at a 5.1% constant value CAGR, reaching US$135.9 million by 2028. Despite historically sluggish growth, the category’s positive outlook is largely driven by strong performance in segments such as Organic Tofu and Derivatives, which is expected to grow its market size by US$24.4 million by 2028, supported by a forecast constant CAGR of 30.6%.

• In 2023, vegan was already one of the leading health claims across packaged food, particularly in Staple Foods, where it ranked just behind natural and organic. However, the vegan claim is expected to become the leading health and wellness attribute in this category in the coming years. As consumers gain a clearer understanding of what a vegan diet entails, more are likely to adopt it, not only for health reasons, but also due to growing concerns about the environmental impact of meat consumption and animal welfare.
• With consumers increasingly keen to eat and drink “better” in order to prevent medical problems, particularly in response to concerns raised since the COVID-19 pandemic, items that are positioned as healthier than standard variants, such as those that are low in fat or high in protein, tend to be on the rise in consumers’ shopping baskets. According to Euromonitor International’s Voice of the Consumer from 2024, 33% of respondents in South Korea claimed they closely read the nutritional labels of food and beverages and 30% claim to keep track of the calories in the food they eat.

Economy: 

• South Korea's economy is projected to decelerate in 2025, with a real GDP growth expected of 1.2%, compared to a 2.0% from 2024. This deceleration is attributed to heightened global economic uncertainty from US tariff measures, and a subdued domestic demand driven by weakened consumer sentiment.
• Real GDP growth is anticipated to gradually recover, reaching 1.7% in 2026 and averaging around 1.9% annually through 2028.
• Inflation closed 2024 at 2.3% and is expected to decelerate further to 1.9% in 2025.

 Population demographics: 

• South Korea's population reached 51.8 million in 2024 and is expected to have a slight decline of 0.2% to 51.7 million in 2025. As low fertility rates persist, the country is expected to have a slow but constant decrease in population through the forecast period.
• The median age in South Korea was recorded at 46.1 years in 2024, an increase of 2.4 years from 2020. 

Income & expenditure: 

• The savings ratio in South Korea reached 6.1% of disposable income in 2024, continuing a steady downward trend in recent years, driven by inflation, high interest rates and borrowing behaviours developed at the height of the pandemic.
• Consumer expenditure per capita grew by 2.2% in 2024 in current USD terms. In constant USD, it is projected to grow at an average annual rate of 1.6% through 2028.
• Disposable income per capita in South Korea was US$17,864 in 2024 and is expected to grow at an average annual rate of 1.5% through 2028. Despite the country’s economic slowdown, mainly driven by weakening exports and domestic demand, the labor market has remained resilient, supporting steady wage growth. However, this income growth is projected to lag behind the Asia Pacific average.

¹ Health and Wellness Definition: Health and wellness is the aggregation of organic packaged food and beverages, fortified/functional packaged food and beverages, naturally healthy packaged food and beverages, better for you packaged food and beverages and food intolerance products.

The above definition and more can be referenced from the definitions table at the end of the report.

² Economic and Demographic Data has been updated to reflect final 2024 estimates, therefore using 2024 as the base year for exchange rates and prices. 

³ Historic current prices and forecast constant 2024 prices.

Top 5 Cities By Population

Top 5 Grocery Retailers By Sales

Top 5 Export Commodities To South Korea

Note : Total organics is the sum of all exports in a particular year

Authorized Government Agency(s):

Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (MAFRA)
MAFRA's National Agricultural Product Quality Management Service (NAQS) is responsible for setting quality standards and grades for agricultural products, enforcing country of origin marks, GMO labeling requirements, and organic labeling for fresh fruits, vegetables, and grains in the marketplace, accrediting certifiers of non-processed organic produce, and post monitoring of labeling of organic processed food products in the market place. NAQS collects samples from retail markets and tests products for GMO content with RDA-developed testing methods.

Agency(s) Contact Information:

Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (MAFRA)
94 Dasom2-ro
Government Complex-Sejong
Sejong-si 339-012,
Republic of Korea
Telephone: +82-2-6196-9110

National Agricultural Products Quality Management Service (NAQS)
141 YONGJEONRO GIMCHEONSI GYEONGBUK
Telephone: +82-54-429-4000 

Environment-Friendly Agriculture Division of the MAFRA
Telephone:  82-44-201-2432
Fax:  82-44-868-0483
Email:  chds@korea.kr or kbb0922@korea.kr
 

Name(s) of Regulation and/or Standard:

Date of Implementation: 2011

Regulation and/or Standard Scope:

The new Act on the Management and Support for the Promotion of Eco-Friendly Agriculture/Fisheries and Organic Foods consolidates Korea's organic regulations, and is sometimes referred to as the New Organic Regulations. Certification by a MAFRA-approved certifier is required for fresh produce, livestock, and processed products, unless it is a processed organic product that meets the requirements of the US - Korea equivelence agreement effective July 1, 2014. 

The U.S. has an organic equivalence arrangement with Korea for organic processed foods. See also Korea's page on the organic equivalency arrangement.

Korea is now on the European Union’s third country list. 

The equivalency arrangements apply ONLY to processed products as defined by the Korean Food Code (Korean Food Code 1.2.29): "Processed food" refers to a food manufactured, processed, and packaged by adding food or food additives to food raw materials (agricultural, forestry, livestock, or marine products), transforming food raw materials (such as grinding or cutting) till their original forms cannot be recognized, or mixing such transformed ones or adding food or food additives to such mixture. However, where, without the use of food additives or other materials, the agricultural, forestry, livestock, or marine products are simply cut, peeled, salted, ripened, or heated (except the cases where heating is performed for sterilization or heating causes significant changes to those products) till their original forms can be recognized or where sanitary risks from treatment processes are not expected and food raw materials are simply treated so as to allow organoleptic identification of food quality, such food products are excluded from the definition of the processed food.”

The equivalency arrangements do NOT provide for equivalency for trade in raw and unprocessed products in accordance with the Korean Food Code. There are no provisions in the agreements covering organic aquaculture. All domestic and imported organic products other than those covered by the equivalency must be certified by a MAFRA-accredited certifying agent.

Critical Variances

US - Korea organic equivalency arrangement covers products which: 

• Are certified to the USDA or Korean organic regulations 
• Are “processed products” as defined by the Korean Food Code 
• Contain at least 95% organic ingredients 
• Have their final processing (as defined in the Korean Food Code) occur in the US or Korea 
• U.S. products: do not contain apples or pears produced with the use of antibiotics 
• Korean products: do not contain livestock products produced with the use of antibiotics 

Korean Food Code

Seal Use

Use of equivalent country organic seals and/or the MAFRA Organic Logo is allowed and optional, provided that products meet the USDA/Korean labeling requirements.

Organic agricultural produce complying with the U.S. organic standards or international standards still needs certification from MAFRA's official certification agency to carry a "Korean language organic label" in the Korean market.

Other Import Requirements

Korea’s import tolerances system assesses safety and sets a maximum residue limit (MRL) of a pesticide that remains in food according to the regulations of foreign countries, if the product imposes no threat to human health, in the case an MRL has not been previously established in Korea.

US processed organic products exported to Korea must be accompanied by the NAQS Import Certificate of Organic Processed Foods that includes the statement “Certified in compliance with the terms of the US – Korea Organic Equivalency Arrangement.” Also, a copy of USDA/NOP organic certificate shall be submitted for import inspection in Korea.

Special Act on Imported Food Safety Control (2016)
Foreign facilities, including food facilities, packing houses, grain storage facilities, fishery plants, etc., that handle products inspected by Korea’s Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (MFDS) must register and agree to inspection by MFDS. See details at MFDS Imported Food Safety link.   

The control and certification process is performed by private certification bodies accredited by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (MAFRA) and audited by the National Agricultural Products Management Service (NAQS).

Outline of Certification System
Certification Application Info
Overview of Organic Processed Food Certification

U.S. International Trade Administration

USDA GAIN Report Organic Foods Market Report (2019)
USDA GAIN Report Retail Foods (2024)
USDA GAIN Report HRI Food Service Sector Report (2024)
USDA GAIN Report Food Processing Ingredients (2024)
USDA GAIN Report Korea's New Biotech Labeling Requirements (2017)
USDA GAIN Report Exporter Guide (2024)
USDA GAIN Report Korea's Special Act on Imported Food Safety Management (2016)
USDA GAIN Report Food and Agricultural Import Regulations and Standards Country Report (2024)
USDA GAIN Report Food and Agricultural Import Regulations and Standards Export Certificate Report (2024)
USDA GAIN Report Pet Food Report (2024)