99.3% of soybeans imported from US test positive for genetic modification

Genetically modified organism (GMO) components were detected in 99.3 percent of U.S. soybean import cases tested over the past decade, trade data showed Friday, raising calls for Korea to diversify its soybean import sources.

According to Korea Agro-Fisheries & Food Trade Corp. data submitted to Rep. Song Ok-joo of the Democratic Party of Korea, Korea imported 1.6 million tons of U.S. soybeans between 2017 and September 2026, accounting for 91.5 percent of its total soybean imports during the period. GMO components were detected in 399 of 402 U.S. soybean import cases, or 99.3 percent.

Canadian soybeans were imported in 45 shipments totaling 29,469 tons, with GMO components detected in 57.8 percent of the cases.

In contrast, no GMO components were detected in soybeans imported from China or Russia. Chinese soybeans totaled 112,124 tons in 18 shipments, accounting for 6.4 percent of total imports, while Russian soybeans totaled 7,870 tons across five shipments.

The data came amid recent controversies over GMO detection in soybean-based foods such as tofu, soy milk and fermented soybean paste in Korea. According to separate data Song obtained from the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, GMO components were detected in 13.8 percent of 492 soybean-based food products tested in 2025.

Song said the findings suggest that Korea’s heavy reliance on U.S. soybeans may have contributed to the detection of GMO components in soybean-based foods.

The Korea Agro-Fisheries & Food Trade Corp. imports soybeans for foods through state trading, selecting the lowest bids from suppliers that meet its requirements. This structure tends to favor cheaper U.S. soybeans, whose average import price in 2024 was 40 percent cheaper than comparable Chinese soybeans.

The corporation requires the soybeans it purchases to be non-GMO. However, Korea allows an unintended GMO presence of up to 3 percent, meaning products do not have to be labeled as GMO if the presence remains below that threshold and is deemed unintentional.

However, GMO components detected in imported U.S. soybeans over the past decade were all below 1 percent, meaning the shipments still met Korea’s non-GMO standard despite testing positive for GMO components.

Against this backdrop, calls are growing for Korea to tighten its threshold for unintended GMO presence to 0.9 percent or lower, in line with the European Union’s standard.

“The GMO inspection results show that diversifying the current U.S.-concentrated import sources could significantly reduce the detection of GMO components in foods,” Song said.

“We need to move away from a system focused solely on the lowest price by introducing measures such as evaluating suppliers by country based on their GMO detection records, allocating imported soybeans to buyers based on quality and raising the supply prices of imported soybeans to more realistic levels.”