Seoul City to Support Up to 100% of Safety Inspection Fees for Small Business Products

Small Quantity, Multiple Varieties, Short Production Cycles Lead to Distribution Without Inspection... City Steps Up for Consumer Safety
Inspection Fees of 100,000 to 3,500,000 KRW Supported Per Case

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] The Seoul Metropolitan Government announced on the 17th that it will support 80~1100% of the 'safety inspection costs' for clothing, bags, shoes, accessories, and other items produced and distributed by small business owners.

Safety inspections are conducted under the 'Electrical Appliances and Consumer Products Safety Control Act' and the 'Special Act on Safety of Children's Products' to verify whether manufacturers or importers of adult and infant products comply with safety standards and contain no harmful substances before manufacturing and importing products. So far, small business owners' products, including household consumer goods and textile products such as clothing, tend to be produced in small quantities and many varieties, with short production cycles. As a result, many small business owners have distributed products without confirming safety standards due to the burden of inspection costs (100,000 to 3,500,000 KRW) incurred each time.

The items eligible for safety inspection cost support include ▲household textile products ▲leather products ▲contact metal accessories ▲children's textile products ▲children's leather products ▲children's accessories (all accessories with character illustrations) ▲children's furniture ▲infant textile products ▲sewn dolls ▲toys ▲synthetic resin children's products (such as bed guards and floor mats), totaling 11 categories. Most of these are products frequently used in daily life or products that come into frequent contact with infants and children.

Inspection costs are supported from 80% up to 100% depending on the item. For household textile products, leather products, and contact metal accessories that comply with safety standards, the full inspection cost is covered (50% supported by Seoul City + 50% discount from accredited testing institutions). For supplier conformity children's products such as children's textile products, children's leather products, children's accessories, and children's furniture, 80% of the inspection cost is supported (30% by Seoul City + 50% discount from accredited testing institutions). For safety-confirmed children's products such as infant textile products, sewn dolls, synthetic resin children's products, and toys, 80% of the inspection cost is also supported.

Applications are accepted starting from the 17th, and inspection costs are supported only for cases where the city requests the inspection application. Small business owners wishing to undergo inspection can directly request it by choosing between the 'Korea Apparel Testing & Research Institute' and the 'Korea Conformity Laboratories,' which have agreements with the city. Especially from this year, the Korea Apparel Testing & Research Institute was selected as an additional inspection institution to enhance convenience for small business owners, and the inspection cost support limit per company was adjusted from 5 million KRW to 3 million KRW to allow more small business owners to benefit.

Han Young-hee, Seoul City's Labor, Fairness, and Coexistence Policy Officer, said, "Many small business owners responded that the inspection cost support has been a great help in reducing expenses," adding, "Through supporting safety inspection costs, we will spread the perception that small business owners' products are safety-verified products and simultaneously help improve small business owners' competitiveness and create a healthy market environment."