Water play equipment such as swimming tubes and textile products for infants and toddlers that fail domestic safety standards have been found to be sold on overseas direct purchase online platforms.

The Korean Agency for Technology and Standards (KATS) under the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy announced on August 6 that it has blocked the domestic distribution of 94 products that failed to meet domestic standards, following a safety investigation into 484 items with high summer demand sold on overseas direct purchase platforms frequently used by domestic consumers.

The non-compliance rate stood at 19%, higher than the 5% average non-compliance rate for domestically distributed products in the first half of this year.

Among children's products, 51 out of 228 items inspected fell short of standards, including 21 water play items, 18 children's textile products, 5 infant textile products, and 3 children's leather products.

In particular, 18 out of 20 inflatable water play products were found to be deficient, such as having tube thicknesses below standard levels or lacking auxiliary air chambers.

Among children's outerwear including raincoats, sandals, and hats, 13 out of 33 items failed to meet safety standards.

Among 111 household goods, all 18 inflatable water play products targeted for inspection, along with 2 electric kickboards and 2 regular kickboards, fell short of safety standards.

As for electrical appliances, 20 out of 145 items failed to meet standards, including 10 LED luminaires, 6 DC power units, and 3 batteries.

The Korean Agency for Technology and Standards disclosed information on the 94 hazardous products on the Product Safety Information Center (www.safetykorea.kr) and Consumer24 (consumer.go.kr).

It also recommended overseas direct purchase online platform operators to remove information on the hazardous products and requested the Korea Customs Service to block customs clearance.

Kim Dae-ja, head of the Korean Agency for Technology and Standards, urged, "As overseas direct purchase products do not receive KC certification, please thoroughly check product information before making a purchase."

(Photo provided by the Korean Agency for Technology and Standards, Yonhap News)