Some sanitary pad suppliers in South Korea have vowed to increase the supply of their cheaper products. -- PHOTO ILLUSTRATION: UNSPLASH via The Straits Times/ANN
SEOUL (The Korea Herald/ANN): South Korea recently saw a rise in women using diapers instead of sanitary pads during their menstruation, citing the high costs, as South Korean President Lee Jae Myung questioned why more low-cost pad options were not available.
“The absorption rate (of a diaper) is just as good as the pad, and it’s more comfortable, but it is at least three times – up to eight times – cheaper than the pad. Overall, I’d say it’s a suitable substitute,” said one YouTuber in her review video posted recently.
The video had more than 39,000 likes and more than 1,200 comments, most of which were from users frustrated by the high cost of sanitary products.
In a Cabinet meeting on Jan 20, President Lee mentioned pad prices, ordering a review of policies such as commissioning the manufacture of standardised low-cost pads and free distribution to certain groups.
He also ordered a Fair Trade Commission (FTC) investigation into the alleged overpricing of sanitary pads.
Women typically menstruate for well over three decades from their teen years to menopause around their early 50s, making the accumulated cost of sanitary pads substantial. As such, alleged overpricing has prompted immediate reaction from both the industry and the public.
Are sanitary pads really that expensive in South Korea?
On the coattails of Mr Lee’s comments, local distributors said they would expand line-ups of cheaper products, between 1,000 won (nine Singapore cents) and 5,000 won, as early as the first quarter of 2026.
Yuhan-Kimberly, a local business specialising in household goods, said on Jan 27 it would expand its supply of mid- to low-tiered products – those as low as half the price of the company’s premium products.
LG Unicharm and KleanNara, other prominent suppliers of sanitary pads, also vowed to increase the supply of their cheaper products.
Coupang, the largest player in the country’s e-commerce market, announced on Jan 29 a further discount on its LunaMEE sanitary pads. The price for a four-pack of 18 mid-sized pads will be reduced from 9,390 won to 7,120 won, coming to 99 won per pad.
Research by the NGO Korean Women’s Environmental Network in 2023 indicated that menstrual products sold in South Korea are more expensive than those in 11 other surveyed regions – the US, Britain, Japan, Singapore, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, the Netherlands, Canada and Australia.
The report said that sanitary pads in South Korea were, on average, 39.05 per cent more expensive, with only large-sized pads being 1.64 per cent cheaper here.
While this is not official government data, other figures from the Ministry of Data and Statistics indicate that the price of sanitary pads rose at a steeper rate than the overall inflation in recent years.
The consumer price index for sanitary pads in South Korea was 118.48 in the third quarter of 2025, showing an 18.48 per cent increase from the previous year. This was marginally more than the 116.68 overall price index.
The consumer price index for sanitary pads increased by 20.91 per cent from 2020 to 2024, while the overall price index rose by 14.18 per cent during the same period.
There have been allegations that the monopoly of pad distributors has driven up consumer prices in South Korea.
The aforementioned three companies reportedly have a combined sanitary product market share of at least 70 per cent. Yuhan-Kimberly, in particular, logged a market share of 47 per cent in 2016 and still maintains its status as an overwhelming leader in the industry.
In addition to the FTC’s ongoing investigation into sanitary pad companies, the National Tax Service said on Jan 27 it has launched an audit against 17 businesses suspected of tax evasion.
This included sanitary pad distributors suspected of exaggerating costs under the pretence of manufacturing premium products.
Concerns remain, particularly over hygiene
While women’s groups welcomed Mr Lee’s push for low-priced sanitary pads, concerns that it could lead to deterioration in quality also arose.
KWEN expressed support for the Lee administration’s move but pointed out that rising pad prices were connected to health concerns with non-premium brands. It stressed that addressing pad hygiene should precede lowering the price.
“Women try out many products to minimise side-effects from using the pads, which results in them paying more to buy the so-called premium sanitary pads... The government should focus not only on manufacturing low-priced sanitary pads, but also establish a system of producing, managing and distributing cheaper and safer pads under the supervision of the state,” the group said in its recent statement.
Some proponents of a free-market economy raised concerns about government interference in the market economy.
A local think-tank, the Center for Free Enterprise, criticised Mr Lee’s approach as “populist” and said that setting a proper price and quality of a specific product is fundamentally against the principles of the market economy.
“If it (the sanitary pad) is too expensive, the first question should be ‘why’. The fundamental factors of distorted price, such as cost of raw materials, distribution network, regulating imports, certification system and excessive administrative regulation, should be inspected first, and proposing distribution without such a process is a backward policy,” the group said.
It suggested subsidising low-income individuals as a realistic alternative that would not have a major impact on the market.
The Ministry of Gender Equality and Family is currently subsidising sanitary pads at 168,000 won per person for females aged 9 to 24 from low-income families.
The ministry said it is reviewing various alternatives to the current policy, including expanding the subsidy to all women in that age group or distributing government-commissioned pads as Mr Lee suggested.
A ministry report showed that of some 234,000 eligible for the programme, 88 per cent had applied.
KWEN said it has encountered repeated cases of teenagers unable to procure enough sanitary pads, and urged the government to allocate a budget for universal distribution of menstrual products for teens.
“Menstruation is not a matter of choice for individuals, and cheap and safe menstrual products are a basic human right that should be available to everyone,” it said. THE KOREA HERALD/ASIA NEWS NETWORK
