Compliant Always
Get in touch

Selling other packaged consumer products in South Korea

In South Korea, consumer products listed by Ministerial Decree go through safety certification, safety verification, a supplier's declaration or compliance with safety standards under the Electrical Appliances and Consumer Products Safety Control Act. The Framework Act on the Safety of Products adds duties to report and recall. Toys, electronics, textiles, cleaning products and kitchenware have their own guides.

Updated · Each section links to the official source it comes from

Main law
Electrical Appliances and Consumer Products Safety Control Act
Agency
Korean Agency for Technology and Standards (KATS)
Four tiers
Certification, verification, declaration, safety standards compliance
General duty
Framework Act on the Safety of Products (제품안전기본법)
Significant accidents
Reported; investigation within seven days if ordered
Net quantity
Measurement Act, for prepackaged products

Before a product goes on sale

The questions to answer, in the order they usually come up.

  1. 1Is the product listed for safety certification, verification, a supplier's declaration or safety standards compliance? Read more
  2. 2Does it carry the mark and labelling its tier requires? Read more
  3. 3Is it a product that needs child protective packaging? Read more
  4. 4Who reports a significant defect or accident, and who recalls? Read more
  5. 5Does the pack show the trade name and net quantity? Read more
  6. 6Does the packaging carry a separate discharge mark, and who pays for recycling? Read more

The rules, by area

What each area covers, the texts that set it, and what the official pages say.

Consumer product safety tiers

Where a product sits decides what is done before sale.

  • Consumer products are industrially manufactured products for consumer use without further processing, other than electrical appliances (Article 2, Electrical Appliances and Consumer Products Safety Control Act).
  • Safety certification: each model is certified by a certification body after product testing and a factory assessment (Article 5). KATS lists items such as gas lighters, pressure cookers and BB guns.
  • Safety verification: each model is tested by a designated lab and the result reported to the minister (Article 15). KATS lists items such as dry-cell batteries, helmets, climbing rope and digital door locks.
  • Supplier's declaration: the maker or importer tests each model itself or through a third party, and keeps the documents (Article 23). KATS lists items such as masks, false eyelashes and window blinds.
  • Safety standards compliance: the maker or importer meets the notified standard and shows the mark it sets, with no mandatory product test according to KATS (Articles 28 and 29). KATS lists items such as synthetic resin products, contact metal jewellery, mattresses, umbrellas and sunglasses.

How we help: Compliant Always records the tier and item for each product, and keeps the certificate, test report or declaration with the model it covers. Ask about this

General safety, defects and recalls

Duties that apply whatever the tier.

  • Business entities have a duty to manufacture or distribute safe products and to verify their safety (Article 4(4), Framework Act on the Safety of Products).
  • A business that discovers a significant defect likely to harm consumers reports it immediately to the competent ministry and recalls the product, then reports the outcome (Article 13(1) and (2)).
  • A recall abroad of the same product is reported immediately (Article 13(3)).
  • Significant accidents are reported: deaths, injuries needing at least four weeks' medical treatment, fires or explosions, and recurring accidents set by Decree (Article 13-2).
  • If ordered, the manufacturer or importer starts investigating an accident within seven days and reports the findings immediately (Article 13-3).

How we help: Compliant Always ties each document to the model and lot it came from, so a report or recall question is answered from the record. Ask about this

Child protective packaging and recycling

Packaging rules for listed products, and for packaging waste.

  • Consumer products listed for child protective packaging, which are likely to harm if swallowed or inhaled, use packaging that children under five find hard to open (Article 2).
  • The maker or importer reports the packaging for each model, marks it, and may not sell the product without the mark (Articles 32 to 34).
  • Products and packaging prescribed by Presidential Decree carry a separate discharge mark (Article 14, Act on the Promotion of Saving and Recycling of Resources).
  • Manufacturers and importers of prescribed products and packaging recover and recycle the waste, or pay contributions to a recycling mutual aid cooperative (Article 16).

How we help: Compliant Always keeps the packaging report and recycling evidence with each product. Ask about this

Net quantity and sales channels

Labelling quantity, and selling through agents or to children.

  • A person who manufactures, imports, processes or sells prepackaged products labels the trade name or name and the net quantity on the container or package, within the permissible error set by Presidential Decree (Article 41, Measurement Act).
  • Parallel importers of products in the certification, verification or declaration tiers label them as parallel imports subject to safety control (Article 38, Electrical Appliances and Consumer Products Safety Control Act).
  • Buying agents acting for a consumer's personal order may supply some products without the mark, as set by Ministerial Decree (Article 35).
  • Where the safety standards set a minimum age, distributors may not sell the product to children below it (Article 39).

How we help: Compliant Always sets the trade name and net quantity beside what your pack shows. Ask about this

Who answers for what

WhoWhat they answer forHow we help
Manufacturer, including a foreign exporterThe tier for each model, marks, and reporting defects and accidents.Certificates and test reports kept with each model.
ImporterThe same tier duties, packaging reports, and investigating accidents when ordered.Certificates read and dated before the goods arrive.
Distributor or sellerSelling only marked products, net quantity labels and age limits.Product documents ready for the retailer or platform that asks.

National ministries and local government

Product law in South Korea is national. Each Act names the minister in charge, such as the Minister of Food and Drug Safety for food and cosmetics, and the Minister of Trade, Industry and Resources for electrical, consumer and children's products.

Many licences, reports and inspections under those Acts are handled by a Mayor or Do Governor or the head of a Si/Gun/Gu, so the local office named in the Act is often the one a business deals with.

Questions businesses ask

Which law covers general consumer products in Korea?
The Electrical Appliances and Consumer Products Safety Control Act sets the tiers for listed products, and the Framework Act on the Safety of Products sets general duties to supply safe products, report and recall.
How do I know which tier my product is in?
The products in each tier are set by Ministerial Decree. KATS publishes item lists for safety certification, safety verification, the supplier's declaration and safety standards compliance.
Does every consumer product need a KC mark?
No. KATS states that products in the safety standards compliance tier carry no KC mark, but show the labelling each item's standard sets.
What is a significant accident in Korea?
A death, an injury needing at least four weeks' medical treatment, a fire or explosion, or other accidents set by Decree such as recurring ones (Article 13-2, Framework Act on the Safety of Products).
When must a defect be reported?
Immediately, where a significant defect causes or may cause harm, with a recall and a report of the outcome (Article 13, Framework Act on the Safety of Products).
Do I report recalls in other countries?
Yes. A recall abroad of the same product, voluntary or ordered, is reported immediately to the competent ministry (Article 13(3)).
What is child protective packaging?
Packaging that children under five find hard to open within a set time but adults do not, for listed products likely to harm if swallowed or inhaled (Article 2).
Do packed goods need a net quantity?
Yes. Prepackaged products show the trade name or name and the net quantity, within the permissible error (Article 41, Measurement Act).
Where are toys, electronics and textiles covered?
In their own guides: toys and children's products, electrical and electronic products, clothing and textiles, cleaning products, and kitchenware.
Who pays for packaging recycling?
Manufacturers and importers of prescribed products and packaging recover and recycle the waste, or pay contributions to a recycling mutual aid cooperative (Article 16).
How does Compliant Always help with selling in South Korea?
Our team reads the rules for the markets you sell in, from Korean law and the regulators' own pages. Compliant Always shows which apply to your product, keeps the documents behind each one ready, and watches the sources for changes. It shows what the requirements say and what your documents show; you decide.

Sources

Compliant Always is a product of Lettuce Labs LLC. It shows what requirements say and what your documents show. It is not legal advice, and you decide.

Tell us what you make, and we will show you the rules for it.

Name the product and the markets you sell in. We will come back to you with what applies in South Korea and what your paperwork needs to show.

Get in touch

No card, no account, and no call to book. Tell us what you make and where you sell it, and we will come back to you.

Get in touch