QR codes on label-free bottles inconvenience sellers, makers

Lotte Chilsung Beverage's label-less Icis / Courtesy of Lotte Chilsung Beverage

By Ko Dong-hwan

• Published Jun 19, 2025 7:00 AM KST

Eco-friendly regulation kicks off next year

The government’s plan to replace information labels with QR codes on plastic water bottles is raising questions about viability among retailers, due to a lack of devices to scan the codes and concerns over additional costs.

Starting next year, water manufacturers will be required to introduce label-free bottles.

The QR codes printed on the bottle caps have prompted complaints from small and medium-sized water producers, who are not yet equipped to print the codes on their products.

Plastic water bottles are sold either in bundles of multiple bottles or individually. While bundles — typically wrapped in thin plastic — are allowed to carry a label with product information and a barcode, individual bottles without labels face physical limitations that prevent them from displaying such information.

The only available space on an individual bottle is the cap, where a QR code containing product information can be printed.

Difficulty scanning QR codes on individual label-free bottles is especially common among small and medium-sized grocery stores, many of which say their product scanning systems can only read barcodes.

Businesses selling individual label-free bottled water that are unprepared to scan QR codes are forced to enter prices manually at the register to serve customers. They complain that this is a hassle and leads to customers spending less time and money in the stores. For these businesses, implementing QR code scanning devices and systems represents another hefty investment.

QR codes on products are also unreadable at large supermarkets. Emart, the country’s largest supermarket chain, said none of its 133 stores nationwide are currently equipped to scan QR codes, but plans to introduce the function in the future. Lotte Shopping, which operates the major supermarket chain Zetta as well as smaller grocery stores, also confirmed it is not yet equipped to read QR codes.

On the other hand, major convenience stores are better prepared. GS25, CU and Emart24 have all equipped their stores with QR code-reading devices and systems.

“Systems at convenience stores run by major companies are more likely to be updated without delay. For smaller businesses, however, that system upgrade might be more difficult because it requires additional spending,” an Emart24 official said.

Printing QR codes on individual water bottles has sparked complaints from about 50 small manufacturers, as the process requires additional investment in specialized machinery like printers. An official from one company acknowledged the environmental need to ban labels on bottles, but noted that the new requirements ultimately lead to higher costs and reduced productivity.

“Compared to large companies, smaller firms might view such investment as burdensome,” an official from Lotte Chilsung Beverage said.

In 2020, the major liquor and beverage company introduced Icis bottled water without labels, becoming the first in the industry to launch a label-free bottled water product. Other major producers, including HiteJinro, Nongshim and Jeju Special Self-Governing Province Development Corporation, have since followed with their own brands.

The Ministry of Environment first announced the enforcement of the regulation in 2022. However, some small-scale bottled water producers have requested a postponement of its implementation, citing significantly increased costs that make producing label-less bottles unprofitable without government subsidies or incentives.

Amid growing complaints and concerns, the ministry plans to meet with business representatives who are facing these challenges.