Korean Cosmetic Act Amended to Appease the Population with Vision Impairment

The people with vision impairment in Korea have long been troubled with recognizing the detailed information on containers or packages of cosmetic products, few of which are treated with the special characters as normally applied in the practice of aiding such consumers, often known as “braille”, despite sporadic exercise on the product name by some companies. Failing to access relevant information has unexceptionally resulted in a shopping predicament, frustrating people with severe eye problems in selecting safe and proper products. Now, the dilemma is about to be closed when the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety in Korea(MFDS) recently issued an amendment to its cosmetic law, pointing directly to institutionalizing “braille” as a system to be applied nationwide and relieving the affected people with statutory resoluteness.

The amendment appears in article 11(2), 11(3) and 38(2) respectively, along with two newly added annex.

The changes in Paragraph 2 of Article 11 are dedicated to “leaving ‘braille and sound-converting codes to assist people with vision impairment”, including the following two sub-paragraphes:

1. the manufacturer and distributor of cosmetics must indicate on such containers and packages as designated by the "Ordinance of Prime Minister” the braille and sound-converting code to be used by people with vision impairment;

2. detailed information regarding braille, the symbols of sound-converting code and their management as suggested in sub-paragraph one, along with any other essentials shall be institutionalized in the “Ordinance of Prime Minister”.

Paragraph 3 of Article 11 insists upon “putting in place such mechanism as to assisting people with vision impairment to obtain and manage relevant necessary information”, including the following two sub-paragraphes:

1: the chief of MFDS has determined to offer people with vision impairment a cosmetic information platform, formulating and putting in place the braille and voice-converting code information system as suggested in Paragraph 2 of Article 11, in order to establish and operate such database and information-providing system containing such cosmetic products information whose containers or packages are equipped with braille and sound-converting code recognizable for people suffering eye impairment.

2: according to sub-paragraph 1, such database and information-providing system as well as any other essentials shall be institutionalized in the“Ordinance of Prime Minister”.

A piece of new interpretation regarding the act of violation has been thrown in to Paragraph 2 of Article 38, which asserts that the legal person of the cosmetic product fails to indicate braille and sound-converting code on the product is viewed as violating sub-paragraph 1 of Article 11(2).

Annex:

1. the amendment shall enter into force 6 months after its issuance;

2. the amended content in sub-paragraph 1 of Article 11(2) is to be firstly implemented among cosmetics in manufacturing plant and tariff-free zone.