Korea bans sales of cosmetics with tampered labels under revised law

South Korea's food and drug safety ministry can now order sellers to stop selling cosmetics whose packaging, writing or labeling has been damaged, forged or altered, under a revision to the Cosmetics Act published on Tuesday.

The new clause, added as Article 16(3), also lets the ministry require sellers and businesses that store or display such products to delete sales information posted on online shopping malls and to draw up measures to keep the goods out of circulation. Those told to act must comply unless they have a justified reason.

A second change creates a dedicated body to help Korean cosmetics exporters. Under a new Article 33-3, the ministry may designate an institution, corporation or organization to run a Cosmetics Global Regulatory Support Center and cover all or part of its costs within the budget.

The center is to monitor information on the production and distribution of counterfeit cosmetics, working with the intellectual property ministry, and to provide regulatory information and consulting for cosmetics exports, support licensing in individual markets, and pursue mutual recognition of product approvals between countries. The ministry said the measures are meant to protect Korean cosmetics' intellectual property and sharpen their competitiveness abroad by helping stamp out illegal production and distribution overseas. The export-support provisions, including the center's designation, take effect on Oct. 20, 2027, one year after publication.