About 30 percent of people here eat foods that are too salty, the Korea Food and Drug Administration said Wednesday, stressing that Koreans need to cut their sodium intake.

Only 24.4 percent said they eat salt in moderation, showing that the dominant palette of Koreans is “savory.”

The test was conducted by studying the preference of 500 people for the saltiness of a bowl of bean sprout soup.

The World Health Organization recommends people eat less than 2,000 milligrams of sodium, about 6 grams of salt, a day. However, the authorities estimate Koreans consume about 4,900 milligrams of sodium, or 12.5 grams of salt ― double the international guidelines.

The KFDA has been holding campaigns to reduce people’s sodium intake, especially in school meals.

“Eating six more grams of salt could elevate the risk of dying of cardiovascular diseases. It could also affect the prevalence of gastric cancer, osteoporosis, kidney stones and more,” the KFDA said in a press release.