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South Korea has recorded a 172 per cent rise in greenwashing cases involving consumer products between 2020 and 2024, according to the latest annual parliamentary audit.
Greenwashing refers to the practice of making false, misleading or exaggerated claims about how environmentally friendly a product, service, or company is.
The country saw the number of violations for illegal use of the “Environmental Label” increase from 485 in 2020 to 1,322 in 2024, said a Seoul-based lawmaker Kim Joo-young on Thursday, citing data obtained from the Ministry of Climate, Energy and Environment.
The Environmental Label is a certification programme that allows products to display the label if they are proven to have reduced environmental impacts, such as lower emissions of pollutants or reduced resource and energy consumption, compared to similar products.
In 2024, 1,320 out of 1,322 cases, or 99.8 per cent, were related to products whose certification period had expired, according to Kim, who said it showed regulatory blind spots in post-certification management.
“The Environmental Label system is a core certification programme that enables citizens to trust and choose environmentally friendly products,” said Kim. “The Ministry must strengthen guidance on certification expiry, enhance post-management systems, and respond more firmly to violators to uphold public confidence in the scheme.”
In response, the climate ministry said it refers to cases involving deliberate misconduct – such as falsifying certificates or using the label without approval – for prosecution, while merely recommending corrective action for sellers unaware of certification expiry.
For instance, the minsitry reported two companies to the police for using the label on products that were never certified this year, according to Kim’s office. Once reported, the case is investigated and may lead to fines or legal penalties depending on the severity of the violation.
Since 2022, South Korea has deployed an automated detection system to identify violations on online platforms, while receiving consumer reports of misleading environmental claims. South Korea became the first Asian country to propose fining firms found culpable of greenwashing in 2023.
Between 2021 and September 2025, reported and confirmed violations increased sharply – from 172 and 143 cases in 2021 to 822 and 572 in 2024, and 664 and 471 in the first nine months of 2025. The number of confirmed greenwashing cases flagged by consumers jumped more than 300 per cent in three years, from 143 to 573.
Greenwashing has emerged as a global issue amid a surge in companies promoting themselves as sustainable, and regulators in Asia have also been picking up a momentum in regulating misleading environmental claims.
Singapore, for instance, published new guidance in early October to curb misleading environmental and product claims, outlining five principles for businesses to follow when making claims about the qualities, uses or benefits of their products. These include ensuring claims are accurate, clear, meaningful, evidence-based and sufficiently substantiated.
Japan also released a series of guidelines in February to encourage companies to indicate the carbon footprints of products in a “realistic and appropriate manner” and to lead to changes in consumer behaviour. It was widely expected to function as de facto greenwashing regulations in Japan, where there are no greenwashing regulations so far.
Australia is the region’s most progressive country for tackling greenwashing, with stiff penalties imposed on major brands for making false or exaggerated green claims over the last year.
