Industry ministry orders recall of 48 children's products after safety checks

The industry ministry said Thursday it ordered the recall of 48 products, including children's textiles and toys, after a three-month safety inspection found they failed to meet Korean standards.

The recall covers 30 children's products, 11 household goods and seven electrical items, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said in a statement. The Korean Agency for Technology and Standards, the ministry's standards body, tested 1,039 products across 67 categories subject to priority management because of high non-compliance rates or a record of fires and accidents.

Among the children's products, 11 items of clothing for young children failed over cords and drawstrings, which can cause accidents. Waist drawstrings measured 28 to 31 centimetres, exceeding the 20-centimetre limit, and some garments had untreated bar-tack stitching. Seven toys contained harmful substances, including tremolite asbestos found in coloured sand products, and four children's leather goods contained lead.

Separately, one children's shoe product made by Triz carried DEHP, a phthalate, at 26.016 percent, up to 260 times the permitted total of 0.1 percent. A button product from Huday contained DBP at 1.18 percent, 11.8 times the limit.

Asbestos is a Class 1 carcinogen that can cause respiratory disease and cancer after prolonged exposure. Preservatives used to prevent spoilage can trigger allergic skin reactions, and lead can cause dermatitis, keratitis and central nervous system disorders.

Household items on the list include three pieces of furniture that could tip over because of inadequate load or vertical-force performance, and two portable laser products that exceeded laser class limits and pose a risk of eye damage. Among electrical goods, two LED lighting fixtures failed on insulation distance and carry a shock risk, while two computer power supply units failed temperature-rise tests and pose a fire risk.

The products will be barred from sale through the agency's product safety information centre and the Consumer 24 website, and registered with a system linked to about 290,000 retail outlets and online shopping malls nationwide.

"We will thoroughly check whether recall operators are carrying out their recalls so that the products ordered recalled this time can be collected quickly, and we will do our best to prevent hazardous products from circulating in the market, including by continuing safety inspections of items or businesses of grave concern," the agency said.

The 48 recalled products will be displayed for the media from 1:30 p.m. to 3 p.m. on Oct. 29 at the Korea Product Safety Management Institute in Seocho District, Seoul, without a separate briefing.