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South Korea To See Changes In Functional Cosmetics Pre-Market Approval To Encourage Innovation And Competitiveness

The South Korean cosmetics industry is set to undergo basic reform in its approval strategy. Abolishing pre-market approval is believed to foster new developments in the K-industry.


Written by Rachel Davis

On Mar 6, 2023 – 4 minutes read

A special panel formed by the Korean Cosmetics Association has proposed changes to the current cosmetics regulations of the K-beauty industry with respect to the pre-market approval of ‘functional cosmetics’. The move is in a bid to push the quality threshold of Korean cosmetics so as to enhance its competitiveness in the global market.

Currently, the class of functional cosmetics(1) are exempt from further testing, provided they adhere to a set standard of ingredients in a set concentration pre-approved by Korea’s Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (MFDS). ‘Functional cosmetics’ are those that claim specific benefits and cater to particular skin or hair issues. These include products that aid in skin whitening, improving wrinkles in the skin, gentle tanning or protecting skin from ultraviolet rays for changing or removing the color of hair, or nourishing hair; and in preventing or improving dryness, splits, loss, cornification, etc. resulting from weakened functions of skin or hair.

What Does This Mean To The K-industry?

According to the current regulations, a product belonging to the functional class, as opposed to regular cosmetics, can obtain pre-market approval simply by containing the prescribed content in the required quantity. This was introduced to prevent manufacturers from making exaggerated claims and deceiving customers. However, this was found to compromise the quality of products, as it spared manufacturers of additional testing.

Sohn, CEO of REACH24H Korea, a regulatory consultancy commented,

“Now, even without any kind of testing or proof on a certain finished product, you can still claim it has whitening efficacy just because it has 2% arbutin. According to Korean regulations, yes, it’s a ‘whitening functional product, but in reality, you won’t really know – you don’t even have the data. Even if you meet the standard of 25% zinc oxide for sunscreen, you can’t guarantee product safety.” 

What Does This Mean To The K-industry?

This regulation breeds complacency among manufacturers and throttles competitiveness and innovation, thereby serving as a hurdle to Korean cosmetics gaining an edge in the international market. REACH24H Korea CEO Sohn asks, “The regulation states you must have specific ingredients, specific amounts. If you change it, you have to do additional testing. So why would Korean producers change it? The easiest way is to keep the standard.”

This regulation has even given rise to the tendency of Korean companies repackaging the same private-label formulas with minimal changes. Apparently, a large share of drugstore brands in Korea launched variations of the same formula created by one manufacturer. The Cosmetic Association observed that there is no point in having this system in place if many companies are just going to take the easy way out and repackage the same formula over and over again.

“I think over 99% of Korean cosmetics manufacturers use 2% to 5% of arbutin. No product goes above 5% when there are products outside Korea that go to 10%. This makes it even more of a hurdle for Korean producers and formulators to challenge newer products.” says Sohn.

This has resulted in the stagnation of Korean cosmetics which has stopped challenging manufacturers for growth and innovation. It has also made it hard for them to compete with international brands and the latest products and formulations in line with the growing market trends.

“The regulations are unharmonized. Let’s say they are going to export to China or the EU. You would still need to prove your claims with testing results et cetera, but they don’t have it because Korean regulations don’t need it” Sohn explained.

Abolishing pre-market approval does not imply laxer quality requirements. But it will necessitate specific additional testing for all formulations to meet improved standards and challenge new inventions. 

Sohn and others are hopeful of bringing reform to the current policies with an aim to encourage innovation and evolution in the cosmetics landscape in Korea. With the growing relevance of the K-beauty industry, it is expected that the government will back the reform. 

“Since President [Yoon Suk Yeo’s] regime, there has been some movement to lower the regulatory hurdles, especially so Korean manufacturers and producers can create more variety and attempt new challenges in functional cosmetics. This is a very unique regulation and is unharmonized with the rest of the world. What they are saying is that it has to be changed and globalized, so k-beauty can be more competitive.”

  1. Jang, M. A., & Lee, J. M. (2021). Research on domestic and international industrial trends of functional cosmetics. Journal of the Korean Applied Science and Technology, 38(2), 618–627.

    https://data.doi.or.kr/cite/10.12925/jkocs.2021.38.2.618

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Rachel

Hi! I am Rachel; a mom and a hair and makeup artist. I am very old-school and I love sharing my experiences on parenting, marriage, and daily life hacks. What is more fun than that! I believe that to take care of anything, you have to love and give your heart and soul to it. Writing has been my passion ever since I was little and it’s the best way I express myself – my thoughts and dreams. Here, I write about everything that I love.

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