Half of Korea's hangover cures fail to meet efficacy standards, face market restrictions

"Since the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (MFDS) required the submission of human test data to scientifically validate the efficacy of hangover remedies, only 81 out of 177 products, or 45.8 percent, have passed the test.

According to the MFDS, 177 items were reported as hangover cures based on a market survey in May and June last year. However, as of early 2025, only 81 products from 39 companies had secured human application test data.

If their makers fail to provide the data, 96 products—more than half of the total—will be unable to use the "hangover cure" claim

The MFDS has implemented the “Hangover Relief Verification System” since Jan. 1. Under the system, companies can use the expression “hangover relief” on their products only after scientifically proving its efficacy through human clinical trials or systematic literature reviews and undergoing an autonomous review of labeling and advertising by the Korea Food Industry Association.

According to the Complainant's Guide (Guideline for Human Application Test for Hangover Relief Claims), efficacy is evaluated by objective indicators, including blood alcohol and acetaldehyde levels, and questionnaires to determine the degree of hangover.

Representative hangover brands, such as HK inno.N’s “Condition,” Samyang Corp's “Easy Tomorrow,” Chong Kun Dang’s “Kkaenoni (meaning “sobering”) Thank You Shot,” Handok's “Ready Q,” Dong-A Pharmaceutical's “Morning Care,” and Yuhan Corp.’s “Naeil-N (meaning “tomorrow”) Recovery” have completed or passed their human application tests since last year.

In addition to verification efforts, the MFDS has started cracking down on unqualified hangover cures.

Since Jan. 13, the ministry has monitored companies that failed to submit proof, suspending their online displays and advertisements. Companies that have continued to advertise without substantiation data are subject to administrative penalties for unfair labeling and advertising and will be subject to a 15-day business suspension for the first offense.

The MFDS also inspected E-Mart's headquarters on-site for selling its private brand hangover cure product “Emergency Measure” on its affiliated e-commerce site SSG.com without verification data.

“We aim to complete the verification within the first half of 2025, but it may be difficult to complete it all at once as there may be items that need to be supplemented or newly added,” a ministry official said.