The safety control system for consumer products was amended in a format similar to that of the safety control system for electrical appliances when the separate laws formerly applicable to electrical appliances and consumer products were combined into the current Act.

Although its legislative intent, which is to strengthen the safety control of consumer products that are widely used in daily life, is reasonable, critics say that the current Act has caused widespread confusion by indiscriminately applying the safety control provisions concerning electrical appliances to consumer products without considering their unique characterisitics.
Accordingly, the Amendment newly inserts consumer products subject to safety standards compliance as a type of products subject to safety control taking into consideration such factors as the risk of consumer harm and product characteristics; allows exceptions for buying agents and parallel importers on account of the nature of their business type; and introduces a requirement to notify a purchaser of matters concerning product safety, thereby streamlining regulations.

Details

A. Add consumer products subject to safety standards compliance as a type of products subject to safety control defined as, "Consumer products specified by the Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy on recognition that they pose little risk of death, physical harm, or property damage to consumers due to their structure, materials, or method of use, etc., but still need safety control, the compliance with which by a manufacturer or an importer may prevent the said risks" (Article 2, subparagraph 14).

B. Define "parallel import business" and "buying agency business" and make certain exceptions in safety control provisions given the unique nature of a business type.

1) Define "buying agency business" as a business that provides a purchasing service in such a way that an agent purchases an imported product from an overseas seller, upon request of a consumer, and the overseas seller directly delivers such product to the consumer concerned; and define "parallel importation" as the importation, for the purpose of sale, of a product in production/distribution under a foreign trademark holder by a third party who is not a domestic license holder (Article 2, subparagraphs 17 and 18).

2) The Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy may fully or partially exempt a person from the duty to report safety certification or safety assurance on parellel-imported products subject to safety assurance; and exempt a person from the supplier's assurance of conformity or the duty to report such assurance on parallel-imported products subject to the supplier's assurance of conformity(Article 6, subparagraph 7; Article 16, subparagraph 6; and Article 24, subparagraph 4).

3) Delete a buying agent from the list of the persons required to post safety assurance information when selling products subject to safety assurance via the Internet (Article 18, paragraph 4).

4) Delete a buying agent from the list of the persons who shall not alter or remove the mark of the supplier's assurance of conformity on a product subject to the supplier's assurance of conformity at will; the persons who shall post information on the mark of the supplier's assurance of conformity, etc., when selling products subject to the supplier's assurance of conformity via the Internet; and the persons who shall not sell products subject to the supplier's assurance of conformity without the mark of the supplier's assurance of conformity, etc. (Article 25, paragraph 3, subparagraph 2 and paragraph 4; and Article 26, paragraph 2).

C. Newly insert a safety control system for consumer products subject to safety standards compliance (Chapter 5).

1) Require a manufacturer and importer of consumer products subject to safety standards compliance to manufacture or import consumer products subject to safety standards compliance that meet product safety standards, and to place the mark specified in the safety standards on the product or packaging (Article 28 and Article 29).

2) Prohibit the selling, importing, displaying, and storing of consumer goods subject to safety standards compliance without the mark of safety standards compliance, and prescribe a system through which the Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy may issue a correction order concerning the safety standards compliance mark (Article 30 and Article 31).

D. Newly insert a consumer notification requirement for a buying agent and parallel importer, etc., as a provision generally applicable to products subject to safety control (Chapter 7).

1) Require a buying agent to provide a purchaser with product-related information and, where there is a risk of harm due to a defect in a product purchased through a buying agent, etc., the Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy may issue an order to prohibit the buying agent from offering a purchasing service for the product concerned (Article 36 and Article 37).

2) Require a parallel importer to place a parallel import mark on products, and to provide a purchaser with information on product safety, etc., when selling parallel-imported products (Article 38).

E. The Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy or Mayors/Do Governors may request an institution specified by Presidential Decree to examine the risks of the relevant products when necessary for product safety control (Article 41, paragraph 4).

Note

This Amendment rests on the premise that the "Partial Amendment to the Framework Act on Product Safety" (Bill no. 9046), represented and proposed by National Assembly Member Lee Hoon, is passed by the parliament. If the bill is not passed or is passed with modification, this Amendment shall be adjusted accordingly.

Require a manufacturer or an importer of consumer products subject to safety standards compliance to manufacture or import consumer products subject to safety standards compliance that conform to product safety standards, and to place the mark specified in the safety standards on the product or packaging (Article 28 and Article 29)

Prohibit the selling, importing, displaying, and storing of consumer goods subject to safety standards compliance without a safety standards compliance mark, and prescribe a system through which the Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy may issue a correction order concerning the safety standards compliance mark (Article 30 and Article 31)

Require a buying agent to provide a purchaser with product-related information, and where there is a risk of harm due to a defect in a product purchased through a buying agent, etc., and allow the Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy to issue an order to prohibit the buying agent from offering a purchasing service for the product concerned (Article 36 and Article 37)

Require a parallel importer to place a parallel import mark on products, and to provide a purchaser twith information on product safety, etc., when selling parallel imported products (Article 38)