Gov't steps back on tightening regulations on overseas direct purchases

The government revoked its plan to mandate the Korea Certification (KC) mark for certain goods directly purchased from overseas on Sunday, as criticisms arose over the previously announced stringent safety measures.

Lee Jeong-won, center, who serves as the second vice minister of the Office for Government Policy Coordination under the prime minister, speaks during a press briefing at the government complex in central Seoul on Sunday. [YONHAP]

The government revoked its plan to mandate the Korea Certification (KC) mark for certain goods directly purchased from overseas on Sunday, as criticisms arose over the previously announced stringent safety measures.

Officials also clarified that the recent decision to tighten regulations on overseas direct purchasing is not an outright ban on such transactions.

“It is not true that the government will preemptively prohibit all direct purchases of 80 types of goods,” said Lee Jeong-won, the second vice minister of the Office for Government Policy Coordination under the prime minister, during a press conference held in central Seoul on Sunday.

“The ban will be imposed only on items found to be hazardous" after a safety assessment, according to Lee.

On Thursday, the prime minister's office and related agencies announced a plan to impose stricter safety rules on certain goods directly purchased overseas, including items closely linked to consumers' health and safety, such as electrical and household appliances and children's products. As stated in the official release, the plan included “prohibiting 80 types of items from being directly purchased from overseas without safety certifications.”

Addressing the recent criticism over the measures significantly limiting consumer options, Lee apologized for “causing confusion by failing to give a more detailed explanation.”

Lee clarified that the government's stance has never changed regarding imposing stricter safety measures on the 80 types of goods, stressing that the intention is to “ramp up safety assessment of certain goods in collaboration with relevant agencies to impose a ban on any items that are proven to be harmful, and allow those without any potential danger to be freely purchased.”

However, the government changed its stance on the KC mark requirement, which was initially announced to be mandated on 68 of the 80 listed items for broader regulation.

“Mandating the KC mark is not the only possible solution we can take; therefore, we will carefully consider whether to make any regulatory revisions after receiving various feedback on the matter,” said Kim Sang-mo, director general at the Korean Agency for Technology and Standards.

Following the government’s announcement on Thursday, opponents criticized the plan as excessive. Han Dong-hoon, the former interim chief of the People Power Party, called the measures “excessive regulations” in a social media post on Saturday, urging the government to “reconsider” the plan.

BY SHIN HA-NEE [shin.hanee@joongang.co.kr]