Hormones exceeded the limit by 120 times! 440,000 defective toys and electrical appliances were seized by Korean customs

Today is the last day of May. During this "Family Month" in Korea, while the sales of children's toys and other gifts have increased dramatically, it has also brought some hidden dangers!

The Korea Customs Service and the National Institute of Technology and Standards recently stated that in order to welcome Family Month, the Korea Customs conducted intensive safety inspections on imported gift items such as toys during the customs clearance stage, taking into account that there have been many records of illegal and defective products imported during Family Month in the past.

Finally, a total of 440,000 illegal and defective products were seized in May, preventing them from entering the Korean market in advance. Toys were the largest number of seized products, with 416,000 pieces, followed by 13,000 DC power supply units and 9,000 batteries.

Soap bubble guns were found to contain excessive amounts of harmful chemicals. Image source: Korea Customs Service

In the toys category, two bubble guns for children under 13 were found to contain phthalate plasticizers 120 and 61 times higher than the safety standard , so 4,680 products involved were detained and returned for disposal. In addition, products that did not obtain KC certification or violated false labels or labels were also seized by Korean Customs.

This year, the detection rate of safety management products, including imported children's products, was 22.9%, down 8.8 percentage points from the same period last year.

Changes in the number of seizures each year compared to the household month from 2018 to 2021. Image source: Korea Customs Service

The Korea Customs Service emphasized , "For children's products such as toys, for which import declarations continue to increase, we will strengthen screening and analysis by collecting and analyzing hazard information such as inspection history and overseas recall cases. We will strive to ensure that children can use safer products."

South Korea’s customs also said: “In order to prevent consumers from being harmed by illegal and substandard products in the future, we plan to strengthen centralized control over the safety of products that surge in seasonal imports during the customs clearance stage.” This also serves as a reminder to sellers that when selecting products, they must comply with local safety and hygiene standards and certifications to avoid any illegal behavior.

customs

Illegal import

South Korea