As concerns grew that pay-as-you-throw trash bags would run short because of the Middle East war, the government said on the 3rd it will speed up supply by shortening the product quality inspection period.
That day, the government held a joint briefing of relevant ministries on the "regulatory improvement plan to ease supply chain bottlenecks" at Government Complex Seoul and stated accordingly. Officials from the Ministry of Finance and Economy, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Resources, the Ministry of Climate, Energy and Environment, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, the Korea Customs Service, and the Ministery of Food and Drug Safety attended the briefing.
The government will reduce the quality inspection period for pay-as-you-throw trash bags from the current 10 days to within one day. It will also build a supply-demand adjustment mechanism so that cities with sufficient pay-as-you-throw bags can lend rolls of unprinted pay-as-you-throw bags to cities facing shortages.
Regulations will be eased so that food companies and sanitary product manufacturers can use packaging materials such as paper to replace plastic film. Under current labeling standards for food and sanitary products, companies must print information such as materials and supplies directly on the packaging. If they use alternative packaging, they would also have to print on it; the government will relax the standards to allow the use of stickers carrying information such as materials and supplies.
The procedures for item-approval changes and on-site good manufacturing practice (GMP) inspections will also be streamlined so that manufacturers of infusion solutions, sanitary pads, and hypodermic needles can replace materials and supplies and packaging with products other than plastic. First Vice Minister Lee Hyeong-il of the Ministry of Finance and Economy said, "We will swiftly ease bottlenecks across the supply chain, including imports, production, and distribution, through bold, proactive administration such as temporary regulatory exemptions."