Recently, harmful substances have been detected in some popular tactile toys, such as "Mallang-i," prompting calls for consumer caution.

The Korean Agency for Technology and Standards (KATS) under the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy announced today (September 16) that safety investigations on 76 tactile toys for children and adults revealed hazardous substances exceeding safety standards in 9 products.

Tactile toys like Mallang-i and squishies, which return to their original shape after being squeezed and released, have gained popularity not only among children but also adults as stress-relieving items.

The investigation showed that out of 37 products that received KC certification as children's products, 2 products were found to be non-compliant with safety standards as preservatives and other substances were detected.

KATS issued recall orders for the products in question and blocked their sales by registering them on the Illegal Product Sales Blocking System (upss.gs1kr.org), which is linked to approximately 290,000 distribution stores.

Among 39 adult products labeled for "ages 14 and older" that did not receive KC certification, testing applying children's product safety standards revealed that 7 products contained phthalate plasticizers and boron exceeding the standard limits.


KATS explained that it is intensively inspecting and cracking down on the distribution market to prevent adult tactile toys from being sold to children.

Starting in July, together with local governments, the agency has been inspecting dense districts of toy businesses nationwide to check whether products without KC certification are being sold, while guiding stores to separate display shelves for adult and children's products. It has also been inspecting stationery stores around elementary schools since August 24.

In addition, KATS is conducting online market monitoring in parallel with consumer organizations, and has requested major online platform companies to strengthen their own monitoring to prevent adult products from being sold in children's product categories.

KATS plans to overhaul relevant standards to strengthen safety requirements regarding the constituent materials and hazardous chemical use in tactile toys.

KATS stated, "Since products labeled for 'ages 14 and older' do not guarantee safety, consumers must check for the KC mark when purchasing children's products," adding, "We will continue to carry out safety investigations and crackdowns on illegal and defective products to ensure the safety of toys distributed on the market."