KATS Recalls 26 Children's Products... "Detected in Ministry of Environment Investigation"

Jump Ropes, Soccer Balls, Measuring Tapes Exceed Harmful Substance Limits
KATS "Efforts to Block Distribution of Products Failing Safety Standards"

[Asia Economy Reporter Moon Chaeseok] The National Institute of Technology and Standards under the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy announced on the 26th that it has issued recall orders for 26 products that violated the safety standards of the Special Act on Safety of Children’s Products.

Together with the Ministry of Environment, they conducted an environmental hazardous substance survey on 73 children’s products from July last year to May this year and identified defective products.

Among the 26 recalled products, 17 were educational tools and 9 were toys, mainly products used for children’s education in elementary schools and the like.

Photo by Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, National Institute of Technology and Standards

Among the educational tools, Philbox’s "Smart Jump" and "Jump Yellow Jump Rope" exceeded the phthalate plasticizer standard (total content 0.1%) by 354 times.

Vesta’s "Vesta Soccer Ball" contained the same substance at more than 128 times the standard level.

Among the "Point Math Tape Measures 20 pieces" made by Redpoint, 17 products exceeded the lead standard of 300 ppm by 8 times.

Photo by Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, National Institute of Technology and Standards

Among educational toys, Shinkwangsa’s "Edison Puzzle" cube toy (sticker) product exceeded the phthalate plasticizer standard by 198 times.

Sunchild’s "Triangle Puzzle" had lead on the surface exceeding the standard by more than 153 times.

Jueun Education’s "Educational Play Set Cards and Bankbook" included 9 products of card and bankbook play sets that exceeded the cadmium standard of 75 ppm by 8 times.

The National Institute of Technology and Standards’ Product Safety Information Center and the Fair Trade Commission’s Happy Dream disclosed information on the 26 products and registered them in the Hazardous Product Sales Blocking System.

They plan to share recall information in cooperation with consumer and civic groups as well as relevant ministries by product category. Continuous monitoring and measures will be taken to prevent recalled products from circulating in the market.

As part of international cooperation on product safety, the products will also be registered on the OECD Global Recall Portal.

In July, the National Institute of Technology and Standards, together with the Korea Consumer Agency, investigated and administratively sanctioned the safety of summer products (life jackets).

Follow-up actions such as recall orders were also taken based on the Ministry of Environment’s hazardous substance survey results.

The National Institute of Technology and Standards will continue to promote inter-ministerial joint cooperation to eliminate illegal products from the market.

Jung Jong-young, Director of the Product Safety Policy Bureau at the National Institute of Technology and Standards, stated, "The institute investigates thousands of children’s products every year to remove defective products from the market," but pointed out, "It is true that businesses continue to distribute products that do not meet safety standards due to poor quality control and cost reduction."

Director Jung emphasized, "Especially for products used by vulnerable groups such as children and the elderly, we will strengthen cooperation with related organizations such as the Ministry of Environment and the Korea Consumer Agency to ensure thorough product safety management at the distribution stage in the future."

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