"Electronic Masks" Available for Purchase Domestically Starting at Year-End

Kukpyowon Establishes Preliminary Safety Standards for Electronic Mask Products

[Sejong=Asia Economy Reporter Kwon Haeyoung] Electronic masks will be available for purchase domestically starting at the end of the year.

The National Institute of Technology and Standards (NITS) under the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy announced on the 25th that it will establish the "Preliminary Safety Standards for Electronic Mask Products" and officially announce them on the 26th.

Electronic masks are devices equipped with electronic filtration components such as filters and electric fans to block fine particles and allow users to breathe comfortably. As an industrial convergence product applying new technology, there have been no safety standards domestically, preventing companies from launching related products. Accordingly, the industry requested the establishment of safety standards through the regulatory sandbox system in May, and NITS has now prepared preliminary safety standards.

An NITS official explained, "Since it usually takes about one year to establish formal safety standards, we decided to first establish preliminary safety standards to support the rapid launch of products."

According to the preliminary safety standards, inhaled and exhaled air passing through the electronic mask must pass through the electronic filtration device's filter. The filter material must comply with the standards for replaceable polypropylene filters (nonwoven fabric for droplet blocking), which are raw material specifications for quasi-drugs announced by the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety. Additionally, the mask body must meet all safety requirements including limits on 14 harmful substances, volatile organic compound content standards, impact resistance, flame retardancy, waterproof performance, and battery safety standards.

Detailed information can be found on the NITS website or the National Law Information Center of the Ministry of Government Legislation.

The preliminary safety standards will be applied starting December 22. The government plans to promptly revise related laws after the implementation of the preliminary safety standards and establish formal safety standards within next year.

An NITS official stated, "We expect that electronic masks will broaden consumers' choices of mask products and help reduce environmental pollution caused by disposable masks that are continuously discarded."

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