Korea is at risk of being kicked out of the AFOL community

[msk6003]

Yesterday (May 16 in Korea), a government enforcement decree was issued.
The content is that direct purchases in Korea will be completely blocked starting in June, and the products that fall under this category include ‘toys.’

It is intended to target Ali and Temu, but the actual damage is done to hobbyists who purchase directly from Amazon, eBay, and other sites.
It's very broad, right? In fact, all hobby communities in Korea are exploding. Not only toys but also electronic components were banned.
Bricklink is now at risk of being blocked in Korea as all products that are not KC certified are banned.
Help. I don't want to lose my hobby and my life(cause I'm working on lego education related company) for such a ridiculous reason.

Edited May 17, 2024 by msk6003

[Space Coyote]

Here's a link with more information about what's happening and why.

https://m.pulsenews.co.kr/view.php?year=2024&no=360924

Judging from the article it seems like the main reason they are doing this is to make sure items are safe for households according to their standards for certification. That's all well and good but banning ALL toys until they're certified is going overboard. Is there any way that Lego products could get this certification? 

Edited May 17, 2024 by Space Coyote

[msk6003]

3 hours ago, Space Coyote said:

Here's a link with more information about what's happening and why.

https://m.pulsenews.co.kr/view.php?year=2024&no=360924

Judging from the article it seems like the main reason they are doing this is to make sure items are safe for households according to their standards for certification. That's all well and good but banning ALL toys until they're certified is going overboard. Is there any way that Lego products could get this certification? 

Because LEGO Korea is here, there are no problems with current or future products. The problem is the parts (it's too expensive to get every single part certified) and the product not being released in Korea.

[Space Coyote]

10 minutes ago, msk6003 said:

Because LEGO Korea is here, there are no problems with current or future products. The problem is the parts (it's too expensive to get every single part certified) and the product not being released in Korea.

I see, thank you for clearing that up. I suppose there's the possibility of buying second-hand from others locally but that won't be enough quantity for the needs of people whose livelihood will be affected by this so I recognize that you and others like you are facing a serious situation. I wish I could be of more help.

[msk6003]

51 minutes ago, Space Coyote said:

I see, thank you for clearing that up. I suppose there's the possibility of buying second-hand from others locally but that won't be enough quantity for the needs of people whose livelihood will be affected by this so I recognize that you and others like you are facing a serious situation. I wish I could be of more help.

Thank you for caring.

[1963maniac]

I hope the South Korean government will take care of this in as speedy a process as possible. I can't imagine life without enough Lego.

[MAB]

I can understand it. Europe has a similar safety standard for toys. Since Brexit, the UK has allowed in anything with the European CE mark and has said it will do so indefinitely. I wonder if your government will do something similar where the toys are already certified to a high standard that they agree with.

The problem with amazon is so many independent sellers sell stuff on there, so the fake (untested) LEGO clones can easily get through.

[Peppermint_M]

I think MAB is on to something, products tested and certified by a respected official body to a very high standard often get accepted quickly in other areas outside of the scope of the testing body. As Bricklink is now owned and controlled by TLG, it should get a pass without too much pain.

[msk6003]

On 5/17/2024 at 10:19 PM, MAB said:

I can understand it. Europe has a similar safety standard for toys. Since Brexit, the UK has allowed in anything with the European CE mark and has said it will do so indefinitely. I wonder if your government will do something similar where the toys are already certified to a high standard that they agree with.

The problem with amazon is so many independent sellers sell stuff on there, so the fake (untested) LEGO clones can easily get through.

Problem is any other certified without KC is not allowed to enter. Even CE or other thing.

Another problem is that not only toys but also electronic components are regulated. Prototyping by small and medium-sized businesses and research and testing by universities will become much more difficult. In fact, there was already an article from a small company saying that their equipment was broken but they were unable to repair it because they could not bring in parts.

And this is something that was recently revealed through someone's question. They say that not only direct purchases but also all goods coming from overseas will be banned from being brought in without KC certification. These 'all goods' include goods sent from the home country for foreigners living in Korea or luggage of Koreans returning after a long stay abroad.

On 5/19/2024 at 6:13 AM, Peppermint_M said:

I think MAB is on to something, products tested and certified by a respected official body to a very high standard often get accepted quickly in other areas outside of the scope of the testing body. As Bricklink is now owned and controlled by TLG, it should get a pass without too much pain.

From what I have seen of the Korean Customs Service working so far, it is highly likely that it will be disposed of regardless of whether it is official or not, unless it has a direct certification sticker attached.

On 5/17/2024 at 9:03 PM, 1963maniac said:

I hope the South Korean government will take care of this in as speedy a process as possible. I can't imagine life without enough Lego.

Thanks for reply.

[vascolp]

I don´t know exactly how I can help you but I simpathize with you!

Meanwhile, I found this FAQ which might be useful to explain:

https://merchantfaq.wish.com/hc/en-us/articles/10790659715483-South-Korea-product-regulations-FAQs

 

 

[msk6003]

On 6/5/2024 at 11:06 PM, vascolp said:

 

A ridiculous article came out recently. It's hard to explain, so I would appreciate it if you could see it for yourself.

https://www.sisajournal.com/news/articleView.html?idxno=292917

Judging by the currently released articles, only AliExpress and Temu are not affected by this regulation. The government is also pushing to allow private organizations to provide KC certification, but AliExpress and Temu knew about this before the related article was published, so there is suspicion that there may have been some kind of lobbying.

Edited June 10, 2024 by msk6003