From Sept. 8 next year, corporations will face criminal punishment if the average quantity of consumer goods such as milk and snacks is less than the stated quantity on the package.
The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Resources' Korean Agency for Technology and Standards said on the 8th that the Cabinet approved a revision to the Act on Weights and Measures containing these provisions. It is the first revision to the Act on Weights and Measures (Weights and Measures Act) in 25 years since 2000. It will take effect one year after promulgation. The revision passed the National Assembly plenary session on the 20th of last month.
First, standards for stated quantities on everyday products will be strengthened. For products such as milk and snacks that are sold with volume or mass indicated on the package, an average quantity standard will apply in addition to the existing legal tolerance for individual items. The average contents of multiple items must be equal to or greater than the stated quantity. Businesses that violate this will face up to one year in prison or a fine of up to 10 million won.
Until now, it was sufficient to comply only with each product's legal tolerance, and there was no standard for the average contents across products. As a result, some manufacturers often reduced contents while staying within the legal tolerance. In fact, when the Korean Agency for Technology and Standards examined 1,002 products with stated quantities this year, 25% had average contents less than the stated quantity.
For industrial sites that require ultra-precise measurement, such as semiconductors, secondary batteries, aviation, and defense, the government has established a legal basis to provide support. It will develop and disseminate calibration standards and support corporations in building measurement management systems. It will also promote the dissemination of measurement technology and training. It will allow the designation of industrial measurement support centers that specialize in research and development of industrial measurement by sector and in support for corporations. Until now, there have been cases where small and midsize corporations found it difficult to secure the necessary measurement technologies and infrastructure on their own.
In addition, a series of operations at industrial sites—such as manufacturing, processes, testing, and quality control—to determine quantitative values is defined as "industrial measurement."
In addition, labels for measuring instruments that are not legal measuring instruments, such as household and educational devices, will be clarified, and regular inspections of weights and measures for commercial scales, which local governments had handled, may be outsourced to private specialized institutions.