Gov't mulls free sanitary pads as Lee slams high menstrual product prices

An employee organizes menstrual products at a supermarket in Seoul on Oct. 4, 2020. [NEWS1]

 
As President Lee Jae Myung renews his criticism of high sanitary pad prices, the government is weighing a bold solution: offering menstrual products for free.
 
The rising cost of sanitary pads was discussed during an internal meeting of the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family on Jan. 22.
 

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The move follows President Lee’s comments during Cabinet meetings in both December and January, criticizing the high prices in Korea. On Jan. 20, Lee said the government should “consider outsourcing the production of sanitary pads and supplying them free of charge to certain groups.”
 
Menstrual pad prices have steadily increased over the past few years. When setting 2020 as the baseline of 100, the consumer price index for sanitary pads rose from 100.49 in 2021 to 119.31 in 2025, marking an 18.7 percent increase over three years — outpacing the overall consumer price index's 13.8 percent rise over the same period, according to government data.
 

President Lee Jae Myung speaks during a senior aides' meeting at the Blue House in Jongno District, central Seoul, on Jan. 22. [YONHAP]

 
A key issue under discussion is who should qualify for support and how it should be delivered. Currently, the ministry provides 168,000 won ($120) in vouchers per year to women and girls aged 9 to 24 from low-income families. Officials are considering whether to expand eligibility to all young women or to produce and distribute menstrual products directly, as the president suggested.
 
“The primary goal is to close support gaps,” a ministry official said. “We are broadly reviewing options such as in-kind distribution, voucher programs and outsourced production.”
 
Public debate over menstrual product prices dates back to 2016, when reports emerged that some low-income girls were using shoe insoles in place of pads due to cost. In response, the central government and local governments began introducing support measures, including voucher programs and free dispensers in public facilities. As of 2024, 36 municipalities nationwide had implemented some form of universal menstrual product support, according to parliamentary audit data.
 
However, budget constraints remain a significant hurdle. Gyeonggi is the only provincial government currently offering universal support, providing 168,000 won per year to girls aged 11 to 18 via a regional voucher. The program, which began in 2021 under Lee, who was Gyeonggi governor at the time, is funded 70 percent by the province and 30 percent by cities and counties, with this year’s budget totaling 27.3 billion won. Of Gyeonggi’s 31 municipalities, 27 are participating.
 
“We provide free sanitary pads through dispensers in public buildings, which anyone can access,” an official from one nonparticipating municipality in Gyeonggi explained. “Given our population size, joining the program would place a significant financial burden on our budget.”
 

A new Ministry of Gender Equality and Family sign is installed at the government complex in Jongno District, central Seoul, on Sept. 30, 2025. [NEWS1]

 
“As local governments compete to expand universal support, we are also looking into phased implementation to manage the fiscal impact,” a central government official added.
 
President Lee has consistently expressed concern about the costs of menstrual products. In 2017, during his term as Seongnam mayor, he said sanitary pads should be treated as public utilities like water and electricity.
 

 
Still, questions have been raised about the president’s recent claim that Korean sanitary pads are “39 to 40 percent more expensive than overseas products.” That figure comes from a 2023 report from a women's civic group, not official government data. The report compared in-store prices of Korean products with prices on Amazon for overseas items, raising concerns about methodological consistency.
 
Moreover, the 39 percent premium reflects the average across all product types. For specific categories such as overnight or pantyliner types, Korean prices were exceptionally high. However, for the most commonly used regular pads, the domestic price was only 3.37 percent, or 11.65 won, higher per unit. 


While the price per foreign pad for the medium size is 345.38 won, the price per domestic pad for the same size is 357.03 won. The contrast was more significant for small-sized pads: foreign pads per unit were 234.02 won, while domestic ones were 352.70 won, resulting in a 50.71 percent difference.
 
“It’s hard to definitively say that Korean sanitary pads are uniformly expensive, given differences in quality,” a government official said. “Relevant ministries will examine whether there are price distortions in manufacturing or distribution and explore appropriate measures.”


This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY CHAE HYE-SEON [shin.minhee@joongang.co.kr]