Safety Concerns Raised Over Imported Inflatable Water Toys

Many inflatable water toys sold on overseas online platforms do not meet domestic safety standards. All 18 adult water toys surveyed failed to meet the criteria, and 18 out of 20 children's products were also deemed unsuitable.

The National Institute of Technology and Standards under the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy announced on August 6 that it had investigated 484 children’s products, household items, and electrical goods sold on overseas direct purchase platforms, finding 94 products that did not comply with domestic safety standards, leading to distribution bans.

The overall non-compliance rate was 19%, nearly four times the average non-compliance rate of 5% for domestically distributed products in the first half of this year. The investigation focused on water toys and children's textile products, which see high demand during the summer.

Out of 228 children’s products surveyed, 51 did not meet safety standards. Specifically, 21 inflatable water toys, 18 children’s textile products, 5 infant textile products, and 3 children’s leather products were found lacking.

Notably, 18 out of 20 inflatable water toys for children failed to meet standards, resulting in a non-compliance rate of 90%. Some products were found to have thinner tube walls than the standard or lacked auxiliary air chambers to maintain buoyancy in case of an accident.

Among 33 children’s outerwear items, including sandals, raincoats, and hats, 13 were deemed unsuitable, resulting in a 39% non-compliance rate.

In the category of household items, 23 out of 111 products did not meet standards. All 18 inflatable water toys surveyed were non-compliant, and two electric scooters and two regular scooters also failed to meet safety standards.

Of the 145 electrical products examined, 20 were found to be non-compliant. The most common were 10 LED lighting fixtures, followed by 6 direct current power supplies and 3 batteries. The non-compliance rate for LED fixtures was 45%, with 10 out of 22 failing to meet standards.

The National Institute of Technology and Standards has made information about the 94 non-compliant products available on the Product Safety Information Portal and Consumer 24. They have recommended that overseas direct purchase platform operators remove the product information and requested the Customs Service to block their import.

Kim Dae-ja, head of the National Institute of Technology and Standards, urged consumers to carefully check product information before purchasing overseas direct purchase items, noting, “As these products do not have KC certification, we will continue to conduct safety investigations on overseas direct purchase products in the second half of this year to prevent the influx of hazardous products into the country.”