The Seoul Metropolitan Government found harmful substances in 7 out of 8 children’s leather products purchased from the Chinese online shopping mall Shein, prompting them to announce weekly safety test results of overseas direct purchase products to protect public health.
According to the Seoul Metropolitan Government on May. 28, children’s shoes sold on Shein were found to contain phthalate additives at levels 428 times higher than the domestic safety standards. Phthalate additives are chemicals used to make hard plastics softer during processing. These are known as ‘environmental hormones,’ one of the endocrine disruptors, which can cause infertility, premature birth, and hinder children’s growth. Additionally, carcinogenic formaldehyde was found in imported children’s leather bags, not only in phathale additives.
Since Apr. 8, government officials from Seoul have been testing the safety of children’s products purchased from Chinese online shopping malls such as AliExpress, Temu, and Shein, releasing results weekly. To date, they have tested 93 products over seven rounds, finding harmful substances such as phthalate additives, heavy metals, and humidifier disinfectant ingredients in 40 (43%) of the products.
A Seoul city official stated, “Unlike officially imported products, overseas direct purchase products enter the country without separate safety inspections, creating a de facto safety blind spot. We cannot stand idly by while citizens’ health is at risk, so we have been announcing the results of our inspections conducted with professional institutions every week.”
Oh Se-hoon, the mayor of Seoul remarked, “We were surprised by the test results. By releasing these findings, we are helping citizens make informed decisions and have also communicated the results to the relevant shopping malls for action.”
To further strengthen inspections, the Seoul city government has signed agreements with three domestic professional testing institutions to strengthen inspections further. Starting next month, they plan to announce test results for tumblers, dishes, and other items.
Meanwhile, South Korean government’s measures for the safety of overseas direct purchases have been inconsistent. On May. 16, the government announced that starting in June, it would ban direct purchases of 80 items that could affect public health unless they obtain KC (Korea Certification) mark. However, this decision was retracted after criticism that it excessively restricted consumer choice.
Internationally, consumer groups are independently conducting safety tests on Chinese direct purchase products.
