The aim of this study was to determine microbiological contamination of fresh-red pepper and packaged-red pepper powder commercially available in South Korea. Thirty-seven fresh-red peppers were collected from 5 farms and 31 packaged-red pepper powders were purchased from retail markets in South Korea. Foodborne pathogens (Escherichia coli, Salmonella spp., Listeria monocytogenes, Staphylococcus aureus and Bacillus cereus), total viable counts, Enterobacteriaceae, coliforms, yeast and mold, and Aspergillus flavus were determined. Detection percentage of contamination of Bacillus cereus in fresh-red pepper was 8.1%, which was lower than the 39% of detection rate in packaged-red pepper powder. The contamination level of Bacillus cereus was 1～3 log CFU/g in packaged-red pepper powder. Escherichia coli was detected in 5.4% of fresh-red pepper samples and was not detected in packaged-red pepper powder. Enterobacteriaceae and coliforms were detected in both of fresh-red pepper and packaged-red pepper powders. Foodborne pathogens, except Bacillus cereus and Escherichia coli, were not detected.