Ladies cry over rising sanitary pad prices

By Kim Bo-eun

A major sanitary pad maker’s plan to raise the prices of its products has triggered controversy among consumers, lawmakers, local governments and manufacturers.

Consumers say that the price of sanitary napkins, a necessity for women, is expensive enough, and the price hike is adding a financial burden to the underprivileged.

Yuhan-Kimberly, which has a 50 percent share of the domestic sanitary pad market, recently announced that it would raise the price of its products by 8 to 20 percent from June.

Following the announcement, posts have appeared on social media about the circumstances of adolescents from low-income households who cannot afford the products.

“My teacher said she found out one of her students was absent for a week because she had no choice but to stay home during her period as she couldn’t buy sanitary pads,” a Twitter user posted.

Another post said, “I had a friend who grew up in a poor family without a mom. Feeling uncomfortable to ask her father to give her money to buy the pads, she used a shoe insole as a substitute.”

Others said students got free pads provided by the school infirmary or had to use toilet paper as a substitute.

These posts stirred up a dispute over the price of sanitary pads, which the government exempted from value-added tax in 2004 to keep down the costs of daily necessities.

Still, the prices have kept rising every two to three years.

The average amount spent on sanitary pads ranges from 5,000 won ($4.32) to 10,000 won a month depending on the product and quantity.

Rep. Sul Hun of the Minjoo Party of Korea earlier this month proposed a revision to the school health regulation, requiring schools to stock up on the products and make them available for their students.

“It is regrettable that young students have to go through such inconvenience and embarrassment. These adolescents have been excluded from receiving the basic help they need,” Sul said.

Municipalities joined in the controversy. Jeonju City in South Jeolla Province said they would provide three months’ supply to each underprivileged adolescent beginning September. Seongam City in Gyeonggi Province and other local offices also have similar plans.

The Korea National Council of Consumer Organizations demanded Yuhan-Kimberly to call off its price hike.

“While consumer prices rose 10.6 percent for the last four years, the price of sanitary pads jumped 25.6 percent,” the group said in a statement. The company raised prices despite the decline in prices of raw materials such as pulp, it said.

In reaction, Yuhan-Kimberly said last week it would introduce cheaper products in the second half of the year.

It also set the price of new products at 7.5 percent higher than that of existing ones, a retreat from the initial plan.

The company said special materials used in the new product were the reason behind the rise.