South Korea said Wednesday it plans to expand monitoring on the safety of pet food products as the size of the market has been growing sharply in sync with the rising number of pet owners.

Under the plan, South Korea plans to carry out an investigation of 650 pet food products available in the market and ban sales of those with high residue of 73 designated hazardous elements, according to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs.

The country also plans to revamp its check list of chemical residue by 2023.

South Korea will also expand an investigation into online shops, which have been considered a blind spot in the country's pet food market. More people have been purchasing pet food online since last year due to the new coronavirus pandemic, according to the ministry.

The South Korean market for pet food, which reached 890 billion won ($786 million) in 2020, is expected to reach 1 trillion won in 2023.

The ministry said its survey showed 55.3 percent of owners purchased foodstuffs for their pets online in 2020, outpacing offline stores amid the pandemic.

More than a quarter of South Korean households are estimated to own pets, according to the data compiled by the ministry in 2019. (Yonhap)