The Ministry of Environment (Minister Kim Wansup) and the Korea Environmental Industry & Technology Institute (KEITI) announced that as a result of strengthening market monitoring throughout the year 2024, administrative measures such as manufacturing and import bans and recall orders have been completed for 570 household chemical products that violated safety and labeling standards under the Consumer Chemical Products and Biocides Safety Control Act.

The products that violated regulations comprise 413 products that violated procedures such as reporting and approval for safety con.firmation of household chemical products before market distribution, 82 products that received a suitable determination for safety standards (prohibited substances, restricted substances, etc.) at the time of reporting and approval but were found to exceed safety standards in the products actually distributed, and 75 products that violated labeling standards such as the lack of reporting numbers.

※ Violation of safety and labeling standards (reporting and approval violations): Up to seven years of imprisonment or a fine of up to KRW 70 millionViolation of safety standards: Up to seven years of imprisonment or a fine of up to KRW 70 millionViolation of labeling standards: Up to five years of imprisonment or a fine of up to KRW 50 million

Among the 413 products (18 product categories) that did not comply with the reporting and approval procedures, the breakdown by category shows that there are 111 air fresheners, 46 candles, and 46 removers*.

* Chemical products used to remove stains and foreign substances attached to surfaces of objects in everyday living spaces such as homes, offices, public facilities, vehicles, etc.

In addition, among the 82 products (18 product categories) con.firmed to exceed safety standards, there are 38 tattoo dyes, 8 cleaning agents, and 6 beauty adhesives. Meanwhile, the 75 products (18 product categories) that violated labeling standards include 14 air fresheners, 13 candles, and 11 cleaning agents.

The Ministry has disclosed information about the relevant products immediately upon completing the administrative measures through Ecolife (ecolife.me.go.kr), and has registered related information in the ‘Unsafe Product Screening System’ operated by the Korea Chamber of Commerce & Industry to prevent these violating products from being distributed in the market.

The Ministry and the KEITI plan to further strengthen market monitoring this year in order to eradicate illegal products and create a safe household chemical product market.

First, the safety investigation to check compliance with safety standards will be significantly expanded from 2,100 products last year to 4,000 products this year. In addition, illegal product companies that distribute products without following reporting and approval procedures, or that resume distribution after administrative measures, will be monitored swiftly. 

To this end, the number of online sales pages subject to constant monitoring will be increased from 20,000 last year to 45,000 this year.

Monitoring and safety management of businesses that repeatedly distribute illegal products will also be strengthened. 

To prevent sellers of illegal products from redistributing these products in the market, the monitoring of whether illegal products are being re-distributed will be shifted from biannual (twice a year) to quarterly (four times a year), and immediate action will be taken to block distribution upon detection.

Park Yeon-jae, Director General of the Environmental Health Bureau, stated, “It is important to first check whether the household chemical products you purchase are legal products that have been reported and approved.” He added, “We plan to do our best to eradicate illegal household chemical products by expanding market monitoring and strengthening collaboration among relevant agencies.”

For further information, please contact the Public Relations Division. 

Contact person: Gina Lee, foreign media spokesperson

Phone: +82-44-201-6055

Email: gcjgina @gmail.com