As skyrocketing food prices chew through South Koreans’ salaries, is shrinkflation crackdown purely a ‘political stunt’?

But from August, manufacturers in the East Asian nation will be required by law to publicise any such changes to their products, under punishment of a fine.

And though the move may boost transparency, observers say its long-term effect is questionable.

“This measure is to prevent consumers from being unknowingly hit by indirect price increases”, the Fair Trade Commission, South Korea’s market regulator, said in a statement announcing the crackdown.

Manufacturers of milk, coffee, instant noodles, toilet paper, shampoo and other daily necessities will be required to alert customers about any changes to product sizes or else face a fine of 5 million won (US$3,600), doubling to 10 million won from the second violation onwards. Notices must be placed on product packaging, in shops or on the manufacturer’s website for at least three months after the change.

Growing public resentment spurred the regulatory crackdown, with unsuspecting customers increasingly angered at having to shoulder the burden of rising production costs.

“Packets of crisps are puffed up with air to make them appear full, but when you open them up, you find the contents are quite a bit smaller than before”, said Park Shin-ae, 36.

A month-long government investigation late last year uncovered 37 product categories, including cheese, beer, and milk, that had been affected by shrinkflation.

“The corporate practice of downsizing products while maintaining prices without alerting consumers is unfair,” a Fair Trade Commission official said in a statement.

“This action aims to rectify the information imbalance between customers and manufacturers, fostering a healthier transactional culture.”

A survey last month by Korean market research company Embrain found 83 per cent of