Textile Products, Leather, Accessories, and 11 Types of Children's Textile Products, Mainly Everyday and Child-Related Items
Cost Ranges from 900,000 to 10,000,000 KRW per Case
[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] The Seoul Metropolitan Government will support up to 100% of the 'safety inspection costs' for clothing, bags, shoes, accessories, and other items produced and distributed by small business owners. The support targets a total of 11 items, including household textile products (clothing, blankets, socks, etc.), leather products (shoes, bags, etc.), children's furniture, stuffed dolls, and wooden toys.
On the 20th, Seoul announced that it will cover the full inspection fee for household textile products, leather products, and contact metal accessories that comply with safety standards (50% supported by Seoul + 50% discount by the Korea Conformity Laboratories), and 80% of the inspection fee for supplier conformity children's products such as children's textile products, children's leather products, children's accessories, and children's furniture (30% supported by Seoul + 50% discount by the Korea Conformity Laboratories). For safety-confirmed children's products such as infant textile products, stuffed dolls, synthetic resin children's products, and wooden toys, 80% of the inspection fee will be supported (80% supported by Seoul).
Safety inspections are conducted under the 'Electrical Appliances and Household Goods Safety Control Act and the Special Act on Safety of Children's Products' to verify whether products manufactured or imported by adult and infant product manufacturers comply with safety standards and are free of harmful substances before production and import.
Until now, small business owners producing household goods, textiles such as clothing, and other products often felt burdened by the inspection costs (ranging from 90,000 to 1,000,000 KRW) due to small quantity and diverse product types and short production cycles, leading to many cases where products were distributed without confirming safety standards. For example, infant textile products require testing for a total of 18 items, including lead and cadmium content, with costs reaching approximately 950,000 KRW (excluding VAT).
The city will cover the costs only for inspection applications requested by the city, and small business owners who wish to have their products inspected can directly request the designated testing institution, the 'Korea Conformity Laboratories,' which signed an agreement with Seoul in 2016.
Seo Seong-man, Seoul's Labor and Livelihood Policy Officer, said, "By supporting safety inspection costs, the perception that small business products are verified for safety will spread, enhancing the competitiveness of small business owners," and added, "It is also expected to help create a healthy market environment that guarantees consumer safety."
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