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Selling clothing and textiles in South Korea

In South Korea, household textile products are consumer products subject to compliance with safety standards under the Electrical Appliances and Consumer Products Safety Control Act: no product test is mandatory, but the safety standards are met and the labelling they set, such as fibre composition and care, is shown. Textiles for infants and children follow the Children's Products Act.

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

Main law
Electrical Appliances and Consumer Products Safety Control Act
Household textiles (가정용 섬유제품)
Compliance with safety standards (안전기준준수)
Product test
Not mandatory for this tier, according to KATS
Mark
No KC mark; the labelling the standard sets
Infant textiles (유아용 섬유제품)
Safety verification under the Children's Products Act
Labels
Fibre composition, maker, country, size, care

Before a product goes on sale

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

  1. 1Is the product a household textile, carpet or leather product, or a textile for infants or children? Read more
  2. 2Does it meet the safety standard for its item? Read more
  3. 3Does the label show what the item's safety standard sets, in Korean? Read more
  4. 4For children's textiles, has each model been tested and the verification reported? Read more
  5. 5Does it contain a substance subject to intensive control above the reporting thresholds? Read more

The rules, by area

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

Which route applies

Adult textiles and children's textiles sit under different Acts.

  • "Consumer products subject to compliance with safety standards" are products where hazards can be prevented by the maker or importer meeting the safety standards, and consumers find it hard to tell differences in ingredients, performance or specifications (Article 2, Electrical Appliances and Consumer Products Safety Control Act).
  • KATS lists household textile products (가정용 섬유제품), carpets (양탄자) and leather products (가죽제품) among the items in this tier.
  • Goods used by or for children not over 13 years of age are children's products under the Special Act on the Safety of Children's Products (Article 2).
  • KATS lists infant textile products (유아용 섬유제품) among the 17 children's products subject to safety verification.

How we help: Compliant Always records the route and item for each product, with the specification that places it there. Ask about this

Safety standards compliance

What makers and importers of household textiles do.

  • Manufacturers and importers comply with the safety standards the Minister of Trade, Industry and Resources notifies for the item (Article 28).
  • KATS says there is no mandatory product test for this tier: safety can be confirmed by checking harmful substances in raw materials such as dyes and waterproofing agents, using raw materials of confirmed safety, private certification or certification obtained abroad.
  • The minister may order improvements within up to six months where a product fails the standard or its mark, and announce the order publicly (Article 31).

How we help: Compliant Always keeps your raw material evidence and test reports with the product they support. Ask about this

Labelling

What a clothing or household textile label shows.

  • Manufacturers and importers put the mark specified in the item's safety standard on the product or its package (Article 29).
  • KATS states that this tier carries no KC mark, but shows the labelling set by each item's safety standard.
  • The KATS clothing example shows fibre composition, the manufacturer's or importer's name, country of manufacture, month and year of manufacture, size, care instructions, and the labeller's address and telephone number.
  • Products without the required marking may not be sold, imported, displayed or stored for sale (Article 30).

How we help: Compliant Always sets the labelling the item's standard requires beside what your label shows. Ask about this

Textiles for infants and children

Safety verification and marks for children's textiles.

  • For products subject to safety verification, each model is tested by a designated laboratory before release or customs clearance and the verification reported to the minister; verification lasts five years (Article 22).
  • The safety verification mark, product information and a caution or warning are placed on the product (Article 23).
  • A failure of the safety standards, a serious accident or a serious defect is reported within 48 hours (Article 12).

How we help: Compliant Always keeps each verification with the model it covers, and shows which are due for renewal. Ask about this

Chemicals in products

Reporting substances subject to intensive control in articles.

  • A person manufacturing or importing a product containing a substance subject to intensive control reports its name, content, hazards, exposure and uses before manufacture or import, where it exceeds 0.1 weight percent in a unit of the product and 1 tonne a year across the products (Article 32, Act on Registration and Evaluation of Chemical Substances).
  • Substances to which people or the environment are not exposed in normal use, or already registered for that use, are excepted (Article 32(2)).

How we help: Compliant Always keeps supplier substance declarations with the product they cover. Ask about this

Who answers for what

WhoWhat they answer forHow we help
ManufacturerMeeting the safety standard and showing the labelling it sets.Raw material evidence and test reports kept with each product.
ImporterThe same safety standard and labelling, and children's product verification where it applies.Evidence read and dated before the goods arrive.
BrandWhat the label says, including fibre composition and care.The label read against the item's standard.
SellerNot selling products without the required marking.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 clothing in South Korea?
Household textile products are consumer products subject to compliance with safety standards under the Electrical Appliances and Consumer Products Safety Control Act; children's textiles follow the Children's Products Act.
Do clothes need a KC mark in Korea?
KATS states that products in the safety standards compliance tier carry no KC mark, but show the labelling set by each item's safety standard.
Is testing mandatory for household textiles?
KATS says no product test is mandatory for this tier; makers and importers confirm safety in other ways, such as checking harmful substances in raw materials.
What goes on a clothing label in Korea?
The KATS example shows fibre composition, manufacturer or importer name, country of manufacture, month of manufacture, size, care instructions, and the labeller's address and telephone.
Can unlabelled textiles be sold?
No. Products without the required marking may not be sold, imported, displayed or stored for sale (Article 30).
What applies to baby clothes?
Infant textile products are among the children's products subject to safety verification: each model is tested by a designated laboratory and the verification reported (Article 22, Children's Products Act).
How long does a children's product verification last?
Five years from the date the report is accepted (Article 22(5), Special Act on the Safety of Children's Products).
Do chemicals in textiles have to be reported?
Where a substance subject to intensive control exceeds 0.1 weight percent in a unit and 1 tonne a year across products, the manufacturer or importer reports it first (Article 32, K-REACH).
What happens if a textile fails its safety standard?
The minister may order improvements within up to six months and announce the order publicly (Article 31).
Are carpets and leather goods covered?
KATS lists carpets and leather products, with household textiles, among the consumer products subject to compliance with safety standards.
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.

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