Nongshim among 5 firms selected for bottled water quality certification pilot

The Ministry of Climate, Environment and Energy announced Monday it has selected five companies to participate in a pilot program for a bottled spring water quality and safety certification regime.

The Korea Water Technology Certification Institute, which is running the pilot, recruited participating companies in May and selected five firms — Daejeong, Baekak Beverage, Jeju Special Self-Governing Province Development Corp., Hwain Bio and Nongshim — through a selection committee on June 5.

The pilot will open with an information session Tuesday at the Eplus Building in Jung-gu, Seoul. The certification process — including on-site inspections, product testing and comprehensive evaluations — will follow.

At the on-site inspection stage, geological experts will be consulted to assess the stability of source water quantity and quality. The ministry also plans to minimize paperwork at the application stage, centering the certification process on field audits.

Participating companies will receive customized technical assessments and quality improvement support from accredited institutions, allowing them to evaluate and strengthen their own quality management standards and establish preventive safety management systems.

The ministry said it plans to use the pilot to closely assess companies' quality management practices in the field and examine the need to formally introduce a certification regime.

"We will comprehensively review the shortcomings and improvements identified through this pilot, and carefully prepare — through consultations with companies and experts — for the introduction of a bottled spring water certification regime grounded in preventive safety management and suited to domestic conditions," said Kim Ho-eun, the ministry's water use policy director.