Ali·Temu Product Blocks Most Common in 'Home Appliances and Children's Products'

Fair Trade Commission and Consumer Agency Report 1,915 Cases Until May
Warning to Be Cautious of Direct Purchases Like Black Friday

Since May until last month, the government has blocked about 2,000 links and pages selling hazardous products on overseas direct purchase (direct import) shopping platforms AliExpress and Temu. The most common products were home appliances, electronic devices, and children’s and infant products, with the main reason being the detection of harmful substances.

According to the Fair Trade Commission and the Korea Consumer Agency on the 20th, the number of hazardous product sales and resale links and pages blocked by the government on AliExpress and Temu from May until last month was identified as 1,915.

Among these, 506 cases were blocked by the Consumer Agency along with the Ministry of Environment, Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, Korea Customs Service, National Institute of Technology and Standards, Seoul City, and Gyeonggi Province due to safety investigation results showing non-compliance in products sold on AliExpress and Temu. 1,052 cases involved blocking the domestic distribution of AliExpress and Temu products that were recalled overseas, such as in the United States, for violating safety standards. Additionally, 357 cases were instances where products that were either deemed non-compliant or recalled overseas were prevented from being redistributed domestically.

By category, home appliances, electronics, and telecommunications devices accounted for the largest number with 631 cases (33.0%), followed by children’s and infant products with 588 cases (30.7%), and accessories with 293 cases (15.3%).

Among the blocked cases of home appliances, electronics, and telecommunications devices, 359 cases (56.9%) contained harmful substances such as lead and cadmium. Risks of electric shock, explosion, overheating, and ignition were also cited as reasons for blocking. For children’s and infant products, the reasons for blocking were harmful substance content in 281 cases (47.8%) and risk of component detachment and choking in 238 cases (40.5%). All 293 cases of accessories were blocked due to the presence of harmful substances.

The Fair Trade Commission and the Korea Consumer Agency stated that as the inflow of hazardous products through overseas direct purchase continues, they will strengthen monitoring and enhance safety investigations and inspections of direct purchase products, focusing on government ministries and agencies participating in the "Overseas Hazardous Goods Management Working Group." They also urged consumers to carefully check the composition and ingredients of products when making direct purchases, especially as demand for overseas direct purchases is expected to increase toward the end of the year due to large-scale discount events such as Black Friday (November 29 in the U.S.) and Boxing Day (December 26 in the U.K.).

Meanwhile, the results of the government’s safety investigations and overseas recall information can be checked through the Consumer Agency’s "Consumer Hazard Monitoring System" or the Fair Trade Commission’s "Consumer 24" platform.