Certification Introduction:

South Korea's mandatory electrical product safety certification system (EK certification) began in 1974, and its purpose is to prevent electrical appliances from hazards such as fire, electric shock and malfunction. The model of EK certification was originally the "Type Approval System", which is a certification system in which the government issues a type approval certificate to the product and supervises the market according to the certification application and the test report issued by the authorized laboratory. In 1997, the Korean government promulgated "The Electric Appliance Safety Control Act", and the type approval directly carried out by the government was changed to be implemented by an authorized certification body. On September 7, 1999, South Korea promulgated Act 6019, which revised the Electric Appliance Safety Control Act, and came into effect on July 1, 2000. The newly revised regulations have made improvements in strengthening the safety control of production and use of electrical appliances, and the safety standards used are harmonized with EC international standards, thereby promoting the implementation of the mutual recognition agreement for conformity assessment.

Under the new law, the EK mark is managed by the Bureau of Technology and Standards (KATS) of the Ministry of Knowledge Economy (MKE, the former Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Energy MOCIE), and from the date of implementation, authorized the Korea Testing Laboratory (KTL) and the Korea Electronics Testing Institute (KET) is a national certification body. The main differences between the new Act and the old Act are as follows:

In October 2005, the regulations revised the certification system in the following five aspects:

• For electrical equipment that has not been certified or supervised, the certification body has the right to request the provincial government or mayor to dispose of the product or withdraw it from the market;

• Products that have adopted the standard for regular surveillance for two consecutive years and have passed the inspection results in the market can be exempted from surveillance in the next year;

• 15 categories of products such as food waste disposer and half-height mini bathtub are included in the product range of EK safety certification (enforced from March 1, 2007);

• Safety supervision of used electrical equipment must be carried out in accordance with regulations;

• Provisions for revocation and improvement orders for security certification.

Product Range:

Electrical products with an input voltage of 50~1000V require EK safety certification, which are divided into wires and cables, appliance switches, capacitors, installation accessories and connecting devices, insulation protection equipment, safety transformers, household appliances, power tools, audio and video equipment, information technology 11 categories of equipment and lighting equipment. For details, please refer to "Product Scope" in this column.

In addition, starting March 1, 2007, slicers, knife sharpeners, can openers, knives, coffee grinders, ice shavers, pumps (including liquid pumps), half-height mini tubs, food waste disposers, Safety certification is required for 15 products including electronic insecticides, projectors (for video), electrodeless lamps, metal lamps, sodium lamps and variable resistors for lamps.

 Certification Technical Requirements:

1) Electrical safety requirements

Products entering the Korean market should meet the Korean safety requirements. The safety requirements are based on EC standards and have minimal national differences. The specific national differences can be found in the CB bulletin of the IECEE CB system.

2) EMC requirements

Electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) requirements under the new law include electromagnetic interference (EMI) and electromagnetic susceptibility (EMS). Among them, EMI requirements are similar to CISPR standards; EMS requirements are similar to EN standards.

Certification Mark Requirements:

1) What is included in the EK safety certification mark

• Safety certification mark;

• Certification number;

• product name;

• Product number;

• Rated input;

• Manufacturer's name;

• Double insulation marking;

• Rated input time (in the case of short product input times);

• Date of manufacture of the product (eg year, month, day or batch number);

• Service provider's address and telephone number;

• EM or EM/EMS logo (optional).

2) EK logo icon

3) Safety sign marking method and marking position

• The size of the logo should be coordinated with the size of the product;

• The logo should be firmly affixed, printed on the product and its outer box, and be clearly visible;

• The name of the certification company "KTL" and the safety certification number should be marked below the safety mark, and other content specified in the standard or defined by ATS should be marked in Korean or English;

• The color of the logo is usually black.

 4) EMC logo icon (EM or EM/EMS logo)