Introduction to Various Certifications

KC(SAFETY) [South Korea]

In order to enable consumers to have a clearer understanding of the certification marks indicated on the products they purchase, and to reduce the various certification fees borne by product manufacturers, the Korea Agency for Technology and Standards (KATS) announced on August 20, 2008 that a new certification system, KC (Korea Certification) certification, would be implemented starting from January 1, 2009. This program was first implemented in the Ministry of Knowledge Economy in July 2009 and was expected to be expanded to all departments by the end of 2010. The implementation plan of the KC mark is as follows: December 2008: Amend the Basic Act on National Standards and its enforcement decree; July 2009: The Ministry of Knowledge Economy begins to implement and adopt the national unified KC mark; January 2009 to December 2010: Amend the laws related to standard certification; January 2011: Apply the KC mark to all certifications.

Certification Introduction

The Ministry of Knowledge Economy (MKE) of South Korea announced on August 25, 2008 that the National Standards Commission would implement a new national unified certification mark named the KC Mark from July 2009 to December 2010.

The new mark is called the KC Mark, representing Korea Certification. The current 13 types of mandatory marks will eventually be unified under this new mark.

One result of this measure is to reduce the expenditure of suppliers on certification fees and gradually make the Korean KC Mark a world brand certification. However, there is a drawback. The recently promulgated KCC mark will only be implemented for a few years and will eventually be unified under this new KC mark.

Implementation Plan

December 2008:

July 2009: MKE starts to implement the national unified logo.

January 2009 - December 2010: Improve the regulations related to certification standards.

January 2011: Complete the application of the national unified mark to all mandatory certification product catalogs.

KC Mark Certification Products List

According to the "Safety Control Act of Electrical Appliances in South Korea", since January 1, 2009, the safety certification of electrical appliances has been divided into two types: mandatory certification and self-regulatory (voluntary) certification. Mandatory certification means that all electronic products among the mandatory products must obtain the KC Mark certification before they can be sold in the South Korean market. Factory inspections and product sampling tests are required every year. Self-regulatory (voluntary) certification means that all electronic products among the voluntary products only need to be tested to obtain a certificate and do not need to undergo factory inspections. The validity period of the certificate is 5 years.

Review Requirements

Initial Factory Inspection Requirements for KC Certification Factory Inspection:

As stipulated by the South Korean Safety Law, after accepting the application, the authorized entity needs to conduct an initial factory inspection of the factory. Conduct a preliminary assessment of the factory's quality control system in accordance with the items required by the Safety Law, and the aspects involved are as follows:

The factory should produce certified products that are consistent with the samples confirmed to be qualified by the certification body in accordance with the product certification implementation rules and the requirements for the factory's quality assurance ability. According to the relevant laws of South Korean safety certification and the relevant regulations of the Korea Testing Laboratory (KTL), your factory should have the following documented procedures or regulations, and the content should be suitable for the factory's quality management and product quality control:

1.Product change control procedure (for example: after the application for product change certification is approved by the certification body, the relevant department should strictly formulate corresponding technical documents according to the approved change content and issue them to relevant departments to correctly implement the change of the certified product. The certification mark cannot be applied to the changed product without approval.)

2.Document and data control procedure

3.Quality record control procedure {It should include that the retention period of records is at least 3 years (only incoming, routine and operation inspection records)}

4.Routine inspection and confirmation inspection procedure

5.Non-conforming product control procedure

6.Inspection or verification procedure for key components and materials

7.Internal quality audit procedure

8.Process operation instructions, inspection standards, operation procedures of instruments and equipment, management systems and other procedures. The factory should keep at least the following quality records to confirm that the factory has indeed carried out all production inspections and production tests, and the quality records should be true and valid.

9.Product routine inspection and confirmation inspection records; Incoming inspection/verification records of key components and materials and the certificates of conformity provided by suppliers.

① Records of regular calibration or verification of inspection and test equipment;

② Routine inspection and confirmation (operation) inspection records;

③ Daily spot check records of safety equipment on the production line (workshop);

④ Disposal records of non-conforming products (incoming, routine and operation);

⑤ Records of internal audits;

⑥ Records of corrective measures taken for customer complaints;

⑦ Records of corrective actions for non-conformities in operation inspections;

Annual Factory Inspection Requirements

After the certificate is authorized, the certification body will conduct an annual follow-up inspection of the factory every year, mainly to check the consistency of the factory's quality control system and whether it can continue to meet the standards of the Safety Law.

The annual factory inspection items are divided into two parts:

1.Check the quality documents, quality records, and relevant contents of the manufacturing site. The requirements and contents are basically the same as those of the initial inspection.

2.It is necessary to confirm the consistency of all products that have obtained the KC Mark authorization from the factory. According to the attachment of the product authorization certificate (list of key components), confirm the key components, materials, circuits, structures, etc. of the certified products to see if they are consistent.

Sampling Requirements:

There are currently 216 types of products included in the scope of KC Mark mandatory certification. The South Korean Safety Law stipulates that all types of products should be sampled every year, so each type of product has one sampling per year.

The sampling method is:

Conducted by the factory inspector during the annual inspection. When there is production or inventory on site, the inspector seals the sample, and the factory should send the sample to the designated address within 3 months.

When there is no production or inventory during the factory inspection, the factory must send the designated sample to the designated address within 6 months.