Government Blocks Import of 700,000 Illegal and Substandard Children's Products into Korea

Kukpyowon and Kwansecheong Conduct Focused Safety Inspections on Imported Children's Products at Customs Clearance Stage... "Measures Such as Detection and Clearance Suspension"

Source=Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy National Institute of Technology and Standards·Korea Customs Service

[Asia Economy Reporter Moon Chaeseok] The government has detected 700,000 illegal and substandard children's products and blocked their entry into the country.

On the 14th, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy's National Institute of Technology and Standards and the Korea Customs Service announced that they conducted a focused safety inspection on the import clearance of children's products, seizing 700,000 illegal and substandard items and preventing their entry into the domestic market.

Stationery items accounted for the largest number with 500,000 items (39 models). Toys followed with 170,000 items (99 models), and children's water play equipment with 10,000 items (8 models).

Two products, 'Eolkeun Ijiugae Pencil Set B' and 'Punny Piltong,' were subject to customs hold, return, and disposal measures.

This was because phthalate-based plasticizers, environmental hormones that cause atopy, kidney, and reproductive organ disorders in children, were detected at levels 40 times and 200 times higher than the safety standard limits.

If not detected, 24,000 units of the Eolkeun Ijiugae Pencil Set B and 16,000 units of the Punny Piltong could have been imported.

The detection rate of imported children's products is decreasing. It was 40.7% (580,000 items) in 2018, 40.6% (810,000 items) last year, and 37.4% (700,000 items) this year.

98% of the cases involved failure to obtain KC certification, false labeling, and violations of labeling requirements. Specifically, failure to obtain certification (51.2%), labeling violations (26.9%), false labeling (19.9%), and non-compliance with safety standards (2%) in that order.

The government plans to strengthen product safety management at the customs clearance stage for countries and products with a large share of children's product imports, such as China, Vietnam, and the European Union (EU).

According to the government, as of last year, imports from China amounted to $2.476 billion (54.7% of the total), the highest share.

Next were Vietnam with $891 million (19.7%), the EU with $555 million (12.3%), Japan with $358 million (7.9%), and the United States with $247 million (5.4%).

The Korea Customs Service and the National Institute of Technology and Standards plan to conduct focused safety inspections at the customs clearance stage for water play products, which are expected to surge in imports during the summer season.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.