Strengthening Management of Products in Safety Blind Spots for COVID-19 Untact and Online Malls
Enhanced Obligations for Sales Intermediaries like Naver and Coupang... Continuous Monitoring of Illegal Product Distribution
[Asia Economy Reporter Moon Chaeseok] The government announced that it will conduct regular safety inspections at least twice this year on 50 key management items. It will separately designate 20 untact (contactless) items such as toys, health equipment, and massage devices, whose demand has increased due to the spread of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19), and strengthen inspections on them.
The National Institute of Technology and Standards established and announced the "2021 Safety Inspection Plan" on the 18th. This year, through six regular inspections and seven occasional inspections, it plans to investigate the safety of a total of about 5,500 products.
This year, the classification system for 278 safety inspection target items will be changed from two stages to four stages. The current 'key management and general management' system will add 'untact and blind spot' categories.
50 Priority Management Items in 2021. (Source: Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, National Institute of Technology and Standards)
Fifty items with high accident risk and high non-compliance rates with safety standards, such as BB guns, will be designated as "key management items" for management. Seven items, including health equipment and batteries, will be removed, and seven new items, including water play equipment and BB guns, will be newly designated.
Untact items in 2021. (Source: Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, National Institute of Technology and Standards)
Products related to indoor leisure use and personal hobbies will be separately designated as 20 untact-related items to strengthen safety inspections.
Items in the blind spot in 2021. (Source: Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, National Institute of Technology and Standards)
Thirty-two blind spot items, such as microwave ovens, tents, and bed mattresses, will be newly designated and included in the regular inspection targets. Twenty-one items with no inspection history in the past three years, five high-risk items managed by companies for safety, and six items requested by the Korea Consumer Agency were newly selected.
2021 Regular Safety Inspection Operation Plan. (Source: Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, National Institute of Technology and Standards)
The number of safety inspection items will increase from 5,286 to 5,500, and regular inspections will increase from five to six times. In addition, the proportion of safety inspections for products sold on online malls will be expanded from 50-60% of the total inspection targets to 70-80%.
Changes in the 2021 Safety Survey Plan. (Source: Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, National Institute of Technology and Standards)
Furthermore, a "recall responsibility system" will be operated by designating a person in charge responsible for the entire cycle from the start of recall inspections to year-round continuous inspections and post-management. Legal measures such as criminal prosecution and fines will be actively enforced against businesses with poor recall product collection performance.
Amendments to the "Product Safety Basic Act" will be pursued to strengthen the product safety management obligations and responsibilities of online sales intermediaries such as Naver, Coupang, and 11st. Through the Product Safety Management Agency, recalled products redistributed on online malls will be tracked and managed. They will be responsible for detection, collection, and even deletion of product information.
Information on recalled products will be provided to consumers using the websites of the Ministry of Education, Ministry of Health and Welfare, Korea Consumer Agency, social networking services (SNS), and notification applications.
Changes in the 2021 Safety Survey Plan. (Source: Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, National Institute of Technology and Standards)
The number of stores adopting the hazardous product sales blocking system will increase from 180,891 last year to 190,000 this year. Introduction will be actively encouraged at mid-to-low price distribution stores such as Alpha Stationery and regional department stores and marts such as Daegu Department Store.
Amendments to the Product Safety Basic Act will be reviewed and pursued to make it mandatory for distribution stores above a certain scale to introduce the system.
An official from the National Institute of Technology and Standards said, "By disclosing this year's safety inspection plan in advance, we have enabled businesses to make voluntary efforts and consumers to actively participate. We expect it will contribute to minimizing illegal and defective products distributed and sold in the market."
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