40,000 Imported Products Violating Safety Standards Detected During Summer

A large number of imported summer products failing to meet domestic safety standards have been detected.

On the 26th, the Korea Customs Service announced that last month, it conducted a focused safety inspection on imported goods during the summer peak season in collaboration with the National Institute of Technology and Standards under the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (hereinafter referred to as NITS), and identified over 40,000 products that did not comply with domestic safety standards.

The focused inspection was carried out as a joint procedure by related government agencies at the customs clearance stage of imported goods to verify compliance with safety standards. The main purpose is to preemptively block the distribution of products violating safety standards within the country.

The detected products either lacked KC certification, or were imported as models different from those certified, with false information displayed for the certified models or omitted safety certification information (KC mark, importer name, etc.).

The two agencies first suspended customs clearance for the relevant products, and will allow clearance later if the products obtain safety certification from NITS or correct violations (such as correcting labeling). Conversely, all other products will be subject to return or disposal.

This year’s focused inspection primarily targeted summer demand items such as water play products, electric mosquito swatters, and portable fans.

Among the detected products, inflatable water play equipment and water toys accounted for the largest number with about 17,000 items, followed by swimming goggles (about 9,000 items), electric devices using rechargeable batteries (about 7,000 items), and swimsuits (about 2,000 items).

A Korea Customs Service official stated, “Insufficient safety standards for children’s products and electric and household goods closely related to daily life pose a significant risk of causing fatal accidents. The Korea Customs Service and NITS will continue focused safety inspections to eradicate the domestic distribution of imported products that threaten public safety.”

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