Importing kimchi or other food into Korea?

Selling imported food in Korea takes more than a customs declaration. Under the Special Act on Imported Food Safety Control (수입식품안전관리 특별법), the overseas factory has to be registered with the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (MFDS, 식약처) before the first shipment, and the Korean importer needs its own business registration. Cabbage kimchi carries one more requirement: since October 2024, only kimchi made at an overseas facility holding Korean import HACCP certification can enter the country. A factory's home-country hygiene certificate or ISO system does not replace it. If the certificate issued by the Korea Agency of HACCP Accreditation and Services (한국식품안전관리인증원) is missing, the shipment does not clear.

Five stages from factory to shelf

1. Requirement check: confirm whether the overseas factory already holds Korean import HACCP certification, before the supply contract is signed.
2. Overseas manufacturer registration and HACCP audit: register the factory with the MFDS, rebuild its process controls into a Korean-format HACCP plan, and pass the document review and on-site audit.
3. Importer business registration (수입식품등 수입판매업): register with the regional MFDS office, with an independent office, completed hygiene training, and a storage warehouse.
4. Import declaration and inspection: file the import declaration with the regional MFDS office ahead of customs clearance, and pass the laboratory inspection applied to a first-time import.
5. Post-certification management: report changes, keep critical control points as certified, and extend the HACCP certificate before it expires.

What this covers

• Overseas manufacturing facility registration (해외제조업소 등록) with the MFDS, filed before the import declaration, usually at the contract stage
• Import HACCP certification for cabbage kimchi factories: the certification application and the food safety management plan, with hazard analysis (HA) and critical control points (CCP) set for salting, washing, seasoning, packing and metal detection
• Preparation for the on-site audit: workplace layout, water testing, pest control and the other prerequisite programs the auditor scores
• Importer business registration, including a building-use check of the office before any lease is signed
• Korean labeling review (한글표시사항): ingredients, use-by date, nutrition facts and the HACCP mark
• Certified translation of the exporting country's licence and registration documents for submission to the MFDS

What we handle

• Reworking the factory's existing process sheets and records into the forms required by the Korean HACCP standard (식품 및 축산물 안전관리인증기준)
• A pre-audit checklist and guidance for the overseas factory, in English directly and in Chinese or Japanese through partner translation 행정사
• Drafting and filing responses when the reviewer asks for supplementation
• Filing the importer business registration as your agent: application form, hygiene training certificate, and warehouse lease or consignment contract
• Checking eligibility for the HACCP agency's free technical support programs when they are announced, and filing the application
• Reviewing options when a first-import laboratory inspection comes back non-compliant, including whether a retest can be requested
• Ongoing reminders for change reports and the certificate extension deadline

How the process works

1. We confirm the product, the factory's certification status and your business setup, and lay out which of the five stages still apply.
2. We prepare the overseas manufacturer registration and the HACCP application with the factory, and the importer registration with you, in parallel where possible.
3. We check labeling and documents before the first shipment arrives, file the import declaration paperwork, and respond to any supplementation request.
4. After clearance we track change reports and the HACCP extension date.

Who typically needs this

Food distributors and restaurant suppliers importing cabbage kimchi from China or elsewhere, overseas food manufacturers that want to export to Korea, and new importers who have not yet registered an import business.

Common mistakes

• Signing a supply contract with a factory that has no Korean import HACCP certificate. For an uncertified factory, certification typically takes at least three to six months.
• A factory name or English address that differs by even one letter between the MFDS registration, the local business licence and the HACCP documents. The mismatch can get the import declaration returned.
• Leasing an office before checking the building register (건축물대장). Residential buildings and buildings with unauthorized extensions are generally refused, and the deposit is lost.
• Not agreeing in the supply contract who pays the audit fee and the auditor's overseas travel costs. Both are charged to the applicant.
• Changing a critical control point (washing time, sanitizer concentration, metal detector limits) at the factory without prior change certification. This can cancel the HACCP certificate.
• Missing the extension window. Import HACCP certification runs for three years, and the extension application is due 120 days before expiry. A lapsed certificate means starting over, with imports stopped in the meantime.

Timeline

Plan to start the administrative work three to five months before the first shipment when the factory is not yet certified. A first-time import of the same product from the same factory goes through full laboratory inspection (pesticide residues, tar colorants, bacterial counts and similar tests), which typically takes around two weeks or longer, with warehouse fees accruing during that time. Later shipments move mainly on document review, with a chance of random sampling.

Facing a business suspension or penalty under food law? See our administrative appeals service. For translation of overseas documents on their own, see certified translation and verification certificates.