24 Overseas Direct Purchase Products Including Toys, Dolls, and Waffle Makers Fail Safety Standards

[Sejong=Asia Economy Reporter Kwon Haeyoung] The National Institute of Technology and Standards under the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy announced on the 13th that some popular overseas proxy purchase products such as toys, stuffed dolls, waffle makers, and bicycles were found to be non-compliant with domestic safety standards.

The National Institute of Technology and Standards investigated 181 popular proxy purchase products as demand for direct purchase and proxy purchase from online malls increased after COVID-19. Among them, 24 products were found to be non-compliant with domestic safety standards.

In particular, animal dinosaur toys contained phthalate-based plasticizers, an environmental hormone, at 5.7 times the standard limit. A button on a stuffed doll contained lead at 48 times the standard limit. Three children’s and infants’ clothing products, including raincoats, were also detected violating safety standards for drawstrings.

Two two-wheeled bicycles and two skateboards were listed as non-compliant due to insufficient impact resistance, raising concerns about body damage during riding. Two electric bicycles exceeding the maximum speed limit (25 km/h), posing a high risk of accidents due to speeding, were also included on the non-compliance list.

One waffle maker and one electric heating pad with surface temperatures exceeding the standard, posing risks of burns or fire, as well as one projector violating insulation distance standards and posing an electric shock risk, were also included.

The National Institute of Technology and Standards notified proxy purchase operators and distributors of the non-compliant products to halt proxy purchases.

Detailed information related to this investigation will be disclosed on the Product Safety Information Center website.

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