KATS publishes Special Act for Children's Products Safety Administration

The Korea Agency for Technology and Standards (KATS) has recently established a general safety standard for all products designed for children. Infant and children textile products and leather products are regulated by Special Act for Children’s Products Safety Administration—General Safety Standard Establishment, Safety Confirmation Law and Supplier Conformity Declaration Act. The new stipulations shall apply on 4 June 2016.
 
1. Safety Confirmation Law
All infant and children textile products are under regulation of Annex 1 (Infant and Children Textile Products) to General Safety Standard Establishment and Safety Confirmation Law for Children’s Products. Such products can be offered for sale or distribution on the Korean market only when certified by Korean Inspection Bureau and obtain KC mark.

Item		Infants (<36 months)
Formaldehyde		20 mg/kg
Organic tin	DBT	1.0 mg/kg
	TBT	0.5 mg/kg
Azodyes (24)		30 mg/kg (each)
Phthalates (DEHP, BBP, DBP, DINP, DNOP, DIDP)		0.1% (sum)
Flame retardants (TDBPP, PentaBDE, OctaBDE)		Prohibited
DMFu		0.1 mg/kg
Total lead		Surface coating/colouring/other basic materials: 90 mg/kg Metals: 300 mg/kg
Total cadmium		75 mg/kg
Nickel release (all metal components)		0.5 µg/cm2/week
Allergenous disperse dyes (22)		Prohibited
pH value		4.0–7.5
Soluble heavy metals (polymer, paper substrate, pigments and layers)		Antimony: 60 mg/kg, Arsenic: 25 mg/kg, Barium: 1,000 mg/kg, Cadmium:75 mg/kg, Chromium:60 mg/kg, Lead:90 mg/kg, Mercury:60 mg/kg, Selenium:500 mg/kg
Cords and drawstrings		Pass
Small parts		No small parts are generated after tensile force testing
Magnets		Unqualified, if the magnets >50 kG2mm2 and fail in small parts testing.
Sharp points/edges		None

 
2. Supplier Conformity Declaration Act
Infant and children leather products are under regulation of Annex 1 (Leather Products) and Annex 15 (Textile Products) to General Safety Standard Establishment and Supplier Conformity Declaration Act for Children’s Products. Producers or importers should test all hazardous substance that may present through 3rd-party testing providers (labs recognised by ISO 17025). Testing companies should verify that whether it conforms to standards as per supplier conformity declaration.

Item	Children (>36 months and ≤13 years of age)
Formaldehyde	75 mg/kg
pH value	4.0 – 7.5
Azodyes (24)	30 mg/kg (each)
Organic tin —TBT	1.0 mg/kg
DMFu	0.1 mg/kg
Phthalates (DEHP, BBP, DBP, DINP, DNOP, DIDP)	0.1%(sum)
Total lead	Surface coating/colouring/other basic materials: 90 mg/kg Metals: 300 mg/kg
Total cadmium	75 mg/kg
Nickel release (all metal components)	0.5 µg/cm2/week
Flame retardants (TDBPP, PentaBDE, OctaBDE)	Prohibited
Allergenous disperse dyes (22)	Prohibited
Soluble heavy metals —products can be placed in mouth	Antimony: 60 mg/kg, Arsenic: 25 mg/kg, Barium: 1,000 mg/kg, Cadmium:75 mg/kg, Chromium:60 mg/kg, Lead:90 mg/kg, Mercury:60 mg/kg, Selenium:500 mg/kg
Cords and drawstrings	Pass
Small parts	No small parts are generated after tensile force testing
Magnets	Unqualified, if the magnets >50 kG2mm2 and fail in small parts testing.
Sharp points/edges	None

 

Item		Requirements
		Infants (<36 months)	Children (≥36 months and ≤13 years of age )
Formaldehyde		20 mg/kg	75 mg/kg
PCP		0.5 mg/kg	5.0 mg/kg
Chromium (VI)		0.5 mg/kg	3.0 mg/kg
Azodyes (24)		30 mg/kg (each)
DMFu		0.1 mg/kg
Phthalates (DEHP, BBP, DBP, DINP, DNOP, DIDP)		0.1% (sum)	0.1% (sum)
Organic tin	DBT	1.0 mg/kg	--
	TBT	0.5 mg/kg	1.0 mg/kg
Total lead		Surface coating / colouring: 90 mg/kg Metals/ other basic materials: 300 mg/kg
Total cadmium		75 mg/kg
Nickel release (all metal components)		0.5µg/cm2/week
Soluble heavy metals (polymer, paper substrate, pigments and layers) —Infants: all polymers, paper substrate, colouring, surface coatings; —Children: all products can be placed in mouth		Antimony: 60 mg/kg, Arsenic: 25 mg/kg，Barium: 1,000 mg/kg， Cadmium:75 mg/kg, Chromium:60 mg/kg, Lead:90 mg/kg， Mercury:60 mg/kg，Selenium:500 mg/kg
Cords and drawstrings		Pass
Small parts		No small parts are generated after tensile force
Magnets		Unqualified, if the magnets >50 kG2mm2 and fail in small parts testing.
Sharp points/edges		None

 
3. Safety Quality Labelling Law
Besides infant and children’s products, textile and leather products intended for children over 13 years of age are regulated by Annex 1 (Home Textile Products) and Annex 3 (Leather Products) to Industrial Product Quality Management and Safety Control Law—Safety Quality Labelling. Producers or importers should test all hazardous substance that may present through 3rd-party testing providers (labs recognised by ISO 17025). Testing companies should verify that whether it conforms to standards as per supplier conformity declaration.

Item	Requirements
	Underwear (intended for direct contact with skin)	Intimates (intended for direct contact with skin)	Outerwear (intended for indirect contact with skin)	Bedding
Formaldehyde	75 mg/kg		300 mg/kg
pH value	4.0 – 7.5		4.0 – 9.0
Azodyes (24)	30 mg/kg(each)
Organic tin —TBT	1.0 mg/kg
DMFu	0.1 mg/kg
Nickel release (limited to those intended to come into prolonged contact with skin)	0.5 µg/cm2/week
Flame retardants (TDBPP, PentaBDE, OctaBDE)	Prohibited
Allergenous disperse dyes (22)	Prohibited	-

 

Item	Requirements
	Underwear (intended for direct contact with skin)	Intimates (intended for direct contact with skin)	Outerwear (intended for indirect contact with skin)	Bedding and other products
Formaldehyde	75 mg/kg		300 mg/kg
Chlorinated phenol (PCP)	5.0 mg/kg
Chromium (VI)	3.0 mg/kg
Azodyes (24)	30 mg/kg (each)
DMFu	0.1 mg/kg
Organic tin —TBT	1.0 mg/kg
Nickel release (limited to those intended to come into prolonged contact with skin)	0.5 µg/cm2/week

 
4. Safety Quality Labelling Requirements
All textile and leather products imported to the South Korea shall be affixed with appropriate permanent labels (including “KC mark”) which shall bear information in Korean. Specify in English if it is hard to describe producer’s name or model in Korean. For the same products, labels can be placed on the surface of packaging if two or more are offered for sale in a packaging (excluding a whole set of tops and pants). Small parts can be exempted from labels, however, which should be indicated in packaging, hangtags and stickers.

Textile Product Labelling	Leather Product Labelling
Structure and Composition Instructions to Washing Seller’s Name, Tel. Name of Producer/Importer Country of Origin Dimension (recommendation) Traceable information: Date Of Production, Batch No./Bar Code	Product Name (Leather Products) Type of Material Dimension Date Of Production Name of Producer Name of Importer (Imported Products) Add./Tel. of Certification Bodies (including area codes) Country of Origin Instructions to Maintenance

 
5. Quality Safety Warnings (in Korean)
(1) Warning for infant products containing “small parts” (besides those passing testing for small parts)
“Caution! Detachable small parts may lead to suffocation.”
“주의!  작은 부품이 탈락되면 삼킬 수 있음”
(2) The following warning shall be indicated for children’s products falling short of small parts testing:
“Warn! Keep it away from infants under 36 months of age.”
“경고!  36개월 미만 사용금지”
(3) Prevent metal components from rust and skin contact:
“Washing may cause rust.”
“물 세탁시 녹이 발생할 수 있음”
“It may cause dermal allergy.”
“체질에 따라 피부 알러지가 발생할 수 있음”
(4) Fire prevention tip:
“Keep it away from fire.”
“불꽃 접근시 불길이 옮겨 붙을 가능성이 있음”
(5) For infant footwear made of “flexible and synthetic materials”:
“Caution! Shoes can be stuck in elevators.”
(6) The following warnings shall be applied for children’s products containing DEHP, DBP, BBP, DINP, DIDP and DNOP in excess of 0.1% w/w.
“주의!  신발이 에스컬레이터 등에 낄 수 있음”
“Caution! Do not place it in the mouth due to migration of phthalates.”
“경고!  입에 넣으면 프탈레이트계 가소제가 용출될 수 있으니 입에 넣지 말 것”
 
Remarks:
Infant textile products: including outwear, underwear, bedding, footwear, socks, gloves, hats, luggage, bags and other textile products intended for infants no more than 36 months of age;
Infant leather products: including outwear, underwear, bedding, footwear, socks, gloves, hats, luggage and bags (Notes: If there are more than 60% materials are natural, synthetic leather or fur on the surface, they are deemed as leather products);
Textile products and leather products including underwear and intimated intended to come into direct contact with skin, outwear that intended for indirect contact with skin, bedding and other articles (such as luggage and bags).