Cosmetics and food in Korea: the regulatory route for importers and K-beauty exporters

The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety — MFDS (식품의약품안전처, sikpum uiyakpum anjeoncheo), known in Korea as 식약처 — regulates cosmetics, food, health functional food, drugs and medical devices. For a foreign business importing into Korea, MFDS decides what may be sold and on what conditions. For a business exporting Korean products, MFDS rules govern the Korean manufacturers it buys from, while the destination’s regulators decide whether the products may enter their market.

This guide covers both directions for both product groups: cosmetics into Korea, food into Korea, K-beauty out of Korea and Korean food out of Korea. It assumes the business operates through its own Korean company; see importing into Korea and exporting from Korea for the structures and taxes.

Cosmetics into Korea

The responsible cosmetics seller

Korea regulates cosmetics through the Cosmetics Act. Anyone who places cosmetics on the Korean market — a Korean brand, or an importer of foreign cosmetics — must register as a responsible cosmetics seller (화장품책임판매업, hwajangpum chaegim panmaeeop) with the regional MFDS office. The registration requires a responsible manager (책임판매관리자, chaegim panmae gwallija) with qualifications set by decree — typically a degree in a relevant science or practical experience in cosmetics quality — who oversees quality control, safety information and post-market surveillance. Small companies often appoint the manager through a specialist firm; the company remains responsible.

Manufacturing in Korea needs a separate cosmetics manufacturing business (화장품제조업, hwajangpum jejoeop) registration; a foreign brand that imports finished products, or has them made by a Korean contract manufacturer, needs only the seller registration.

Functional cosmetics

Products claiming certain effects are functional cosmetics (기능성화장품, gineungseong hwajangpum) under the Cosmetics Act: whitening, wrinkle improvement, sun protection, hair dye and hair-loss relief, acne relief, atopic skin care and a few others. Before sale they need an MFDS review (심사, simsa), or a simpler report (보고, bogo) where the active ingredient and level are in the MFDS standard list, under Article 4. An imported sunscreen that sells as a general cosmetic in its home market may be a functional cosmetic in Korea; plan for the review before launch.

Ingredients, testing and animal testing

MFDS publishes lists of prohibited and restricted ingredients (사용금지·사용제한 원료, sayong geumji · sayong jehan wollyo) with maximum levels, which differ in places from EU and US rules. The importer must check each formula against them and keep the evidence. Imported cosmetics are subject to quality testing per manufacturing lot, which can be relaxed where the foreign manufacturer’s testing is recognised under the conditions set by MFDS. Cosmetics developed or tested on animals may not be distributed in Korea under Article 15-2, with narrow exceptions.

Labels and claims

Every cosmetic sold in Korea carries a Korean label under Article 10: product name, responsible seller, full ingredient list, quantity, lot number, expiry or period after opening, and precautions. A Korean sticker over the original label is normal for imports. Advertising may not suggest medical effects or present a general cosmetic as functional under Article 13; MFDS and the Fair Trade Commission enforce claims made by influencers as well as by brands.

At the border

Before customs clearance, the importer files a standard customs clearance pre-report for each product through the Korea Cosmetic Association, which customs checks. The responsible seller’s registration, the Korean label and, for functional cosmetics, the MFDS approval must already be in place. Our guide to importing into Korea covers customs value, FTA origin and import VAT.

Food into Korea

Foreign plant registration

Under Article 5 of the Special Act on Imported Food Safety Control, a foreign food manufacturer or processor must register its facility with MFDS before its products can be imported. Registration is filed online, by the manufacturer or the Korean importer, at least a set period before the first import declaration, and must be kept current. MFDS can inspect foreign plants on site and suspend imports from those that fail.

The Korean importer

The Korean company importing food registers as an imported food sales business (수입식품등 수입·판매업, suip sikpum deung suip · panmaeeop) under Article 15, with hygiene training for its representative or a responsible person. It files an import declaration (수입신고, suip singo) with MFDS for each consignment under Article 20. MFDS decides the inspection: document review, on-site inspection, laboratory testing or random sampling. A product imported for the first time normally undergoes laboratory testing; repeat imports with a clean record move to lighter checks.

Animal and plant products

Meat, dairy and other livestock products face an extra layer. They can come only from countries and plants approved by Korea, with veterinary certificates, under the Livestock Products Sanitary Control Act and animal quarantine by the Animal and Plant Quarantine Agency. A cured ham or a cheese from a plant not on the Korean list cannot be imported, whatever its quality. Fresh produce and some plant products need plant quarantine. Check the country and plant lists before taking orders.

Labels, allergens and health claims

Korean labels are required under the Act on Labeling and Advertising of Foods: product name, type, importer, ingredients, allergens from the Korean list, contents, best-before or use-by date, storage and origin. Claims are tightly limited: a food may not claim to prevent or treat disease, and functional claims are reserved for registered health functional foods (건강기능식품, geongang gineung sikpum) under the Health Functional Foods Act, which need their own approvals. Supplements sold as health products in Europe or the US often need reformulation or reclassification for Korea.

Alcohol

Wine, beer and spirits are imported under a liquor import licence (주류수입업 면허, juryu suibeop myeonheo) from the tax office under the Liquor Tax Act, in addition to the food import rules, and bear liquor tax and education tax at import. Sales to consumers online are heavily restricted. Producers that want control of their Korean distribution form a Korean company that holds the licence.

K-beauty out of Korea

Foreign entrepreneurs export Korean cosmetics more than they import foreign ones. The Korean manufacturer or brand is responsible under Korean law for products made and sold in Korea; once the products leave Korea, the destination’s rules apply, and the exporter or its buyer must meet them. The principal markets:

Main destination rules for K-beauty. Requirements change; check the current position for each market.

Three practical points. First, Korean formulations can contain ingredients restricted in the destination — certain UV filters, preservatives or whitening agents — so check before buying stock. Second, the EU and UK Responsible Person must hold the safety file, which requires cooperation from the Korean manufacturer; agree it in the supply contract. Third, many Korean brands sell only through authorised exporters; a trading company buying from wholesalers risks grey-market disputes and products near expiry.

Korean food out of Korea

Korean food exports — ramen, snacks, sauces, kimchi, ginseng, beverages — follow the destination’s food law. The US requires food facility registration with FDA under FSMA and prior notice of each shipment, with US labelling and, for some products, foreign supplier verification by the US importer. The EU requires compliance with its food law, labelling in the local language, and for products of animal origin — including composite products containing meat or dairy — an approved third-country establishment and health certificates, which rules out many Korean products containing meat. The EAEU requires conformity under its food safety regulation. Muslim-majority markets increasingly require recognised halal certification.

On the Korean side, MFDS and the agricultural authorities issue health or free-sale certificates for exports where the destination requires them, and Korean exporters can use the Korea–destination FTA for preferential duty with the manufacturer’s origin confirmation. Exports are zero-rated for VAT; see exporting from Korea.

A product is only as legal as its label in the country where it is sold.

Voixa Korea

Making your own brand in Korea: OEM and ODM

Many foreign entrepreneurs do not import or resell K-beauty — they create their own brand and have it made by a Korean contract manufacturer (위탁제조, witak jejo). Korea’s cosmetics OEM and ODM industry is among the most advanced in the world: an ODM develops the formula, packaging and testing; an OEM manufactures to the brand’s formula. Minimum order quantities are often modest, which makes Korea the default for new skincare brands from Europe, the Gulf and Central Asia.

The regulatory position depends on where the brand sells. For sales in Korea, someone must be the responsible cosmetics seller for the brand — the brand’s own Korean company, or a Korean partner acting for it. For export only, the Korean manufacturer’s registration covers production, and the destination’s rules decide the rest: the EU Responsible Person, FDA listing, EAEU declaration. In both cases the contract should settle who owns the formula and the product information file, who supplies safety data to foreign regulators, who bears recall costs, and whether the manufacturer may sell a similar product to others. A brand that does not own its formula and data cannot easily move production or register abroad without the manufacturer’s cooperation.

Selling through Korean retail

Korean health-and-beauty chains and the large online marketplaces are where K-beauty trends start, and foreign brands — including Korean-made foreign brands — want to be listed there. Retailers onboard brands through a Korean supplier entity with the responsible seller registration, Korean labels, product liability insurance and the ability to issue Korean tax invoices. That is usually the moment a foreign brand forms its own Korean company. See e-commerce in Korea for marketplace onboarding.

Two short examples

A French pharmacy-skincare brand enters Korea through its own Jusik Hoesa. The company registers as responsible cosmetics seller with an outsourced responsible manager, obtains MFDS reports for its two sunscreens as functional cosmetics, prints Korean stickers, and files standard customs pre-reports for each product. It imports duty-free under the EU–Korea FTA and lists on a beauty chain and two marketplaces.

A Dubai entrepreneur launches a private-label skincare line made by a Korean ODM for sale in the Gulf and Central Asia. The ODM develops the formulas and supplies the safety data; the contract assigns the formulas to the brand. A Seoul trading company owned by the entrepreneur buys from the ODM under purchase confirmations, exports with UAE registrations and halal certificates arranged with the Gulf importer, and handles EAEU declarations for Kazakhstan. Exports are zero-rated; the Korean company recovers its VAT monthly.

Who does what in Korea

Typical division of work for a regulated import business.

Costs and timing

A responsible cosmetics seller registration with an outsourced manager can be in place within weeks of the company’s business registration. Functional cosmetics reviews take longer — often months where data must be submitted. Foreign food plant registration is quick if the manufacturer cooperates; the first shipment’s laboratory testing adds days to clearance and should be expected. Liquor import licences take a few weeks. The recurring costs are the responsible manager, label design and checks, per-shipment testing and customs brokerage. None is large; together they are the price of controlling your own market access.

Mistakes we see

1. Shipping before registrations, with goods held at customs and storage costs mounting.
2. Sunscreens and whitening products sold as general cosmetics without functional review.
3. Ingredients allowed at home but restricted in Korea, or the reverse for K-beauty exports.
4. Food plants not registered, or meat and dairy from plants not on Korea’s approved list.
5. Supplements making health claims without health functional food approval.
6. Registrations held by the importer, making a change of importer slow and costly.
7. K-beauty exported to the EU without a Responsible Person and safety file.
8. Grey-market stock bought from wholesalers, near expiry and outside brand authorisation.

Korean terms you will meet

Questions readers ask

About the author

Alexander Baranov

Founder of the BCA Group · cross-border corporate and tax adviser since 2008

Alexander advises foreign founders and groups on company formation, tax structuring and corporate law in more than 40 jurisdictions across Europe, the Gulf, Asia and Latin America. He is the author of nine books on international business and tax and writes regularly for professional finance and tax journals. He works in English, German, Spanish and Russian.

This guide is based on the Korean statutes cited in the text and on our own filings. It is reviewed when the law or official rates change.

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