Revision of Safety Standards to Eradicate Illegal BB Gun Modifications

Establishment of Attachment Standards for Muzzle Velocity Limiting Devices

BB gun. (Photo by Korea Consumer Agency)

[Asia Economy Reporter Moon Chaeseok] The government has revised safety standards to prevent the illegal modification of BB guns.

On the 1st, the National Institute of Technology and Standards under the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy announced that it will revise and announce safety standards on the 2nd to establish attachment standards related to velocity limiters, which have been identified as the cause of illegal modifications of toy BB guns.

The National Institute of Technology and Standards will implement the revised safety standards (draft) from May next year, which include new criteria to ensure that velocity limiters cannot be easily removed once attached.

According to the newly established requirements, importers and others must attach the velocity limiter so that it cannot be separated from the product. The attachment location must also be mandatorily indicated.

Additionally, a cautionary note stating, "Anyone who removes or alters the velocity limiter may be held responsible under relevant laws," must be clearly indicated on the product.

Currently, under the safety standards for BB guns pursuant to the Electrical Appliances and Household Goods Safety Control Act, the firing energy of toy BB guns is regulated to be 0.2 joules (J) or less (0.2J or less for adults, 0.14J or less for adolescents).

However, because the attachment of velocity limiters is not sturdy, consumers have been arbitrarily modifying the guns to increase firing power by removing the velocity limiter or replacing the nozzle entirely, which has been pointed out as a cause of safety accidents.

Furthermore, the government is changing related regulations considering that consumers use BB guns for leisure purposes.

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism plans to enact the "Land Leisure Sports Act (tentative name)" to manage survival sports and others.

Based on this, the National Police Agency has decided to allow the manufacture, import, and use of sports guns with firing energy exceeding 0.2J only when used at survival game venues.

The National Institute of Technology and Standards plans to ban the attachment of velocity limiters on BB guns once sports gun-related laws are revised. Only products manufactured with firing energy of 0.2J or less will be allowed to be sold as toy guns.

Lee Seungwoo, head of the National Institute of Technology and Standards, emphasized, "Through this strengthening of safety standards, we expect a significant reduction in illegal modifications of toy BB guns and the resulting safety accidents," adding, "Safe usage is just as important as strengthening safety standards to prevent accidents."

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