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Regulation

MFDS 영양성분: South Korea nutrition label

MFDS 영양성분, the Korean nutrition label under MFDS Food Sanitation Act Art. 10, 9 mandatory nutrients, per serving as sold, Korean on pack. Generate a compliant label free.

Reviewed against MFDS Food Sanitation Act Art. 10 · Page updated October 25, 2026

Jurisdiction
South Korea (packaged food sold at retail)
Regulation
MFDS Food Sanitation Act Art. 10
Effective
1 May 2018
Official source
www.mfds.go.kr
Generate a South Korea labelBack to all formats

Nutrition labelling requirements in South Korea

Packaged food sold in South Korea must carry a nutrition declaration under MFDS Food Sanitation Act Art. 10. This page covers the South Korea - MFDS 영양성분 format: 9-nutrient panel with %DV per Food Sanitation Act. A compliant Korean nutrition label declares 9 mandatory nutrients: 열량 (calories), 나트륨 (sodium), 탄수화물 (carbohydrate), 당류 (sugars), 지방 (fat), 트랜스지방 (trans fat), 포화지방 (saturated), 콜레스테롤 (cholesterol) and 단백질 (protein). Values are declared per serving as sold, with energy in kcal, and sodium rather than salt. The panel is headed "영양성분". Korean is required on pack. There is no mandatory front-of-pack warning scheme. NutritionFactLabel builds a print-ready Korean nutrition label from your recipe, applying the rounding rules and reference intakes for South Korea automatically, and exports it as PDF, PNG, SVG, JPG or EPS.

Official regulation

Citation
MFDS Food Sanitation Act Art. 10
Effective
1 May 2018
Scope
South Korea (packaged food sold at retail)
Source

Key facts

Mandatory nutrients (9)
열량 (Calories), 나트륨 (Sodium), 탄수화물 (Carbohydrate), 당류 (Sugars), 지방 (Fat), 트랜스지방 (Trans fat), 포화지방 (Saturated), 콜레스테롤 (Cholesterol) and 단백질 (Protein)
Declaration basis
Per serving as sold
Energy units
kcal
Sodium or salt
Declared as sodium, not salt
Panel heading
영양성분
Label language
Korean required on pack
Front of pack
No mandatory front-of-pack warning scheme

South Korea regulates food labelling under the Act on Labeling and Advertising of Foods, Etc., which is in force. Article 4 makes it mandatory to show prescribed information on foods, food additives and livestock products, including the product name, net contents, ingredients, business name and address, date marking and consumer safety information.

Article 5 makes nutrition labelling mandatory for manufacturers, processors, repackers and importers of the foods the Enforcement Rule designates. The detailed nutrition requirements sit in the Enforcement Rule of the Act and in the Labeling Standards of Foods, Etc. issued by the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety.

The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (MFDS) administers the national food labelling framework and issues the Labeling Standards, which are used together with the Act and the Enforcement Rule.

Source: Act on Labeling and Advertising of Foods, Etc.; Enforcement Rule of the Act on Labeling and Advertising of Foods, Etc..

Which nutrients are mandatory on Korean nutrition labels

Where nutrition labelling applies, nine nutrients are mandatory and in force:

  • calories;
  • sodium;
  • carbohydrate;
  • sugars;
  • fat;
  • trans fat;
  • saturated fat;
  • cholesterol; and
  • protein.

If another nutrient with a Korean daily reference value is declared, or is the subject of a nutrition claim, its declaration rules become mandatory as well.

The Enforcement Rule contains specific exceptions, for example for health functional foods, which have their own labelling standard. These should be checked against the product type before leaving a nutrient off the label.

Source: Enforcement Rule of the Act on Labeling and Advertising of Foods, Etc., Article 6.

Nutrition labelling expands to all processed foods, 2026 to 2028

Korea is making nutrition labelling mandatory for nearly all processed foods, in phases. The amended regulations took effect on 1 January 2026 and widen the range of foods that must carry nutrition labelling. They also add information requirements for products labelled sugar-free or no added sugar.

The expansion is phased by company size:

  • from 2026, businesses with 2022 sales above 12 billion won must label the newly covered products, which is in force; and
  • from 2028, businesses with 2022 sales of 12 billion won or less must comply, which is transitional until then.

Around 30 items where nutrition information is not meaningful, such as ice, chewing gum and steeped tea, are excluded from the expansion.

Source: Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, 2026 changes to the nutrition labelling system; Korea.kr, nutrition labelling for all processed foods from 2026.

How to read a Korean nutrition label

For each declared nutrient, the label must show the nutrient name, its amount and, where required, its percentage of the Korean daily nutrient reference value. This is mandatory, and the information must be presented clearly enough for consumers to recognise it easily.

Read a Korean panel in three steps. First, find the quantity or serving the values refer to. Second, read the amount of each nutrient, such as sodium in milligrams or carbohydrate in grams. Third, use the percentage of the daily reference value to see how much that amount contributes to the reference intake used for labelling.

The exact presentation, type size, placement, units and calculation rules are mandatory under the Enforcement Rule and the MFDS Labeling Standards. Apply them to the final artwork rather than copying a US Nutrition Facts panel or another country's format.

Korea uses its own daily reference values. A foreign percent Daily Value or NRV percentage cannot be substituted where Korean rules require the percentage to be shown.

Source: Enforcement Rule of the Act on Labeling and Advertising of Foods, Etc.; Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, Food Labeling System.

Korean-language and imported food labeling requirements

Foods sold in South Korea must meet Korea's labelling requirements even when made overseas, which is mandatory. Importers are responsible for making sure imported products carry the information the Act, the Enforcement Rule and the MFDS Labeling Standards require.

The prescribed label information must be in Korean. Foreign languages may appear alongside the Korean text. Imported foods commonly meet the Korean-language requirement with a Korean label sticker, used under the conditions the Labeling Standards set.

Import status does not remove the nutrition labelling obligation. If an imported product falls within the categories that must carry nutrition labelling, Article 5 of the Act applies to the importer, and the 2026 to 2028 expansion applies to imports as it does to domestic products.

Source: Act on Labeling and Advertising of Foods, Etc., Articles 4 and 5; Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, Food Labeling System.

How NutritionFactLabel handles it

  • Applies the correct rounding rules for every nutrient
  • Uses the right Daily Value / Reference Intake table for this jurisdiction
  • Renders the required front-of-pack warnings automatically when thresholds are hit
  • Handles multilingual labels where required (bilingual EN/FR, EN/ES, Arabic + EN, etc.)
  • Exports print-ready vector PDF, PNG, SVG, JPG, and EPS

Common questions

What must a Korean nutrition label include?
Where nutrition labelling applies, it is mandatory to declare calories, sodium, carbohydrate, sugars, fat, trans fat, saturated fat, cholesterol and protein. Each must be shown with its amount and, where required, its percentage of the Korean daily nutrient reference value.
How do you read a Korean nutrition label?
Start with the quantity or serving basis the values refer to, then read the amount shown for each nutrient. Where a percentage of the daily reference value is shown, it tells you how the declared amount compares with the Korean reference value used for labelling.
Which nutrients are mandatory in South Korea?
Nine nutrients are mandatory under Article 6 of the Enforcement Rule: calories, sodium, carbohydrate, sugars, fat, trans fat, saturated fat, cholesterol and protein. Other nutrients become mandatory to declare when they are included in nutrition labelling or are the subject of a nutrition claim.
Does Korea require labels in Korean?
Yes, it is mandatory: the prescribed label information must be in Korean. Foreign languages may be used alongside it, and imported foods commonly meet the requirement with a Korean label sticker under the conditions in the MFDS Labeling Standards.
Who regulates food labelling in South Korea?
The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety administers the national food and nutrition labelling framework. The rules in force are the Act on Labeling and Advertising of Foods, Etc., its Enforcement Rule, and the MFDS Labeling Standards of Foods, Etc.
Does every processed food in Korea need nutrition labelling?
Almost every one, once the phase-in is complete. Nutrition labelling for all processed foods is in force from 2026 for businesses with 2022 sales above 12 billion won and becomes mandatory for smaller businesses from 2028. Around 30 items, such as ice, chewing gum and steeped tea, are excluded.
Do imported foods need Korean nutrition labels?
Yes, where the product falls within a category that must carry nutrition labelling, it is mandatory. Article 5 places the nutrition labelling obligation on importers as well as manufacturers, processors and repackers.

How to generate one

  • Open the generator: free account, no credit card
  • Pick "South Korea - MFDS 영양성분" from the format rail
  • Enter your ingredients (search USDA FoodData Central or add a custom ingredient)
  • The label renders live; export in one click

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