The South Korean government effectively reversed a recent ban on overseas direct sales of products without KC safety certification, announcing on May 19 that it plans to restrict the importation of only those products confirmed to be hazardous by safety investigations. This announcement comes three days after the government initially declared on May 16 that it would ban overseas direct sales of products without KC certification, insisting that it had planned to block overseas direct sales of 80 items from next month.
Earlier, the government issued a press release stating that “children’s products (34 items), electrical and household goods (34 items), and household chemicals (12 items) directly related to public health and safety will be prohibited from being sold overseas without safety measures.” It added that “blocking the importation of hazardous products based on the Customs Act will be implemented in June after preparations by the Korea Customs Service and the relevant ministries.”
During a briefing, the Office for Government Policy Coordination stated, “What will be implemented in June is to restrict the importation of only those products that have been confirmed to be hazardous. We plan to restrict the importation of products confirmed to be hazardous based on safety investigations conducted by relevant agencies, including the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, the Ministry of Environment, and the Seoul Metropolitan Government.”
At the briefing, Lee Jeong-won, second vice-minister of state at the Office for Government Policy Coordination, said, “We apologize for the confusion regarding overseas direct sales. The temporary pre-blocking of 80 items is not true.” He added, “It is not physically or legally possible to ban direct sales.” The restriction applies only to products identified as dangerous; it is not a broad ban on all overseas direct sales.
Adult figures (for use by those over 13) are not considered children’s products. Only children’s figure products intended for use by children under 13 that have been tested and found to be harmful will be blocked. For products not included in the measures, such as alcoholic beverages and golf clubs, the government plans to consider further actions, including potential bans if problems are confirmed.
“The law needs to be revised to determine the items to be blocked from being imported,” Lee said, adding, “We will come up with a reasonable plan after sufficient public debate, including discussions in the National Assembly, during the law revision process so that the public is not inconvenienced by using overseas direct sales.”
Lee said, “On May 16, we announced a plan to strengthen consumer safety and enhance corporate competitiveness in response to the surge in overseas direct purchases. We should have given a more detailed and specific explanation, but we failed. We apologize for any confusion caused to the public, regardless of the reason.”
