Market & legal data for the vapour sector in South Korea

9th November 2023: South Korea: The Tobacco Harmful Ingredients Disclose Bill was signed into law by the Cabinet on 31st October. The bill obliges manufacturers and importers of all tobacco and nicotine products to test every product for harmful ingredients every two years and submit the results, alongside information on raw materials and additives used, to the Ministry of Health. These requirements enter into force on 1st November 2025.
9th October 2023: South Korea: On 6th October, the parliament approved the Tobacco Harmful Ingredients Disclose Bill. If the government signs the bill into law, it would oblige manufacturers and importers of vaping products to test every product for harmful ingredients every two years and submit the results, alongside information on raw materials and additives used, to the Ministry of Health. The ministry would need to establish a basic framework for the method of analysis, disclosure and use of ingredients. The bill would enter into force two years after its publication in the Official Gazette.
19th April 2023: South Korea: Deputy prime minister and minister of economy and finance Choo Kyung-ho said yesterday that e-cigarettes should be taxed at the same level as combustible cigarettes, press reports. E-cigarettes are currently treated as any other tobacco product, but are taxed differently.
28th February 2023: South Korea: The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KCDC) last week published a report on the use of flavoured e-cigarettes, calling for tighter regulation of flavoured tobacco products.
10th November 2022: South Korea: The Customs Service today announced that it will consult with the relevant ministries to revise the relevant laws to include synthetic nicotine under the definition of tobacco. The authority says it has developed a precise method of analysis to determine whether the nicotine contained in e-liquids is natural or synthetic, in response to importers of e-liquids falsely declaring tobacco-derived nicotine to be synthetic in order to avoid taxes.
13th October 2022: South Korea: The Electronic Cigarette Association announced today that it is suing the Ministry of Health and Welfare over its 2019 recommendation to stop using e-cigarettes, press reports. “By giving a false perception that e-cigarettes are as harmful as tobacco, they are causing enormous economic and psychological damage to small business owners who sell e-cigarettes”, the association argues.
28th September 2022: South Korea: The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency today warned of an increasingly widespread use by young people of flavoured tobacco products, including e-cigarettes, which it says are a gateway to smoking. The agency refers to a study showing a 12% increase between 2016 and 2022 in the use of flavoured tobacco products by smokers aged 13-39.
16th September 2022: South Korea: Today (16th September) the Ministry of Health and Welfare and the Korea Health Promotion Institute held an institutional forum to discuss the direction of e-cigarette policy. During the forum, according to the press release, “the current status and problems of the recent spread of e-cigarettes are reviewed, and policy improvement directions are discussed”. The expansion of the definition of tobacco products to encompass products derived from tobacco stems or roots is being considered, as only products that contain or are derived from tobacco leaves currently fall within the scope of the definition. There are several bills in the legislative process to this end.
29th August 2022: South Korea: Today, the Ministry of Health and Welfare updated the requirements applicable to the health warnings that nicotine-containing e-liquids must carry. The new requirements, which are updated every two years, will apply from 23rd December 2022 to 22nd December 2024. The notice comes with a manual with illustrations of the packaging and frequently asked questions.
23rd June 2022: South Korea: E-cigarette health warnings remain unchanged following a decision by the National Health Promotion Policy Deliberative Committee to change pictorial warnings on tobacco products.
7th March 2022: South Korea: A court has decided that the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety shall publish data behind the claims that some e-cigarettes contain ingredients that can cause severe lung disease, press reports. Prior to the court proceedings, the Electronic Cigarette Association had asked the Ministry to disclose this information, yet that request was rejected by the authority.

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