The KC mark, handled end to end.
KC is Korea’s mandatory conformity mark for designated products, covering electrical safety, children’s product safety and radio/EMC conformity. Working with designated test labs, we screen whether your product needs it, plan the testing, file the application, and get the KC mark and Korean labels right — so your goods arrive certified, labeled and ready to import and list.
What KC certification actually is
KC (Korea Certification, KC 인증) is South Korea's mandatory conformity mark for designated products, covering electrical safety, children's product safety and radio/EMC conformity. Regulated goods — most electronics, anything wireless, children's products, and many household items — must be tested, certified, and marked with the KC logo before they can be legally imported and sold in Korea, including on Coupang.
There is no single "KC certificate." The mark sits on top of three regimes, each with its own regulator and its own routes — summarized below. Which one applies, and at which tier, depends on what your product is.
Certification is holder-specific: a certificate issued to one party does not automatically cover another. That detail matters more than it sounds. Coupang requires KC documentation at listing time for regulated categories — especially through Rocket Growth — and a mismatch between the certificate holder, the customs filings, and the seller account is one of the most common reasons a launch stalls at the last step.
Three regimes behind one mark
Each regime has its own regulator, issuing body and routes. Many products fall under more than one — a Wi-Fi appliance, for example, needs both electrical safety and radio conformity.
Electrical Appliances and Consumer Products Safety Control Act (전기용품 및 생활용품 안전관리법)
Regulator: Korean Agency for Technology and Standards (KATS, 국가기술표준원). Certificates are issued by designated certification bodies. Tiers: Safety Certification (안전인증), Safety Confirmation (안전확인) and Supplier Conformity Confirmation (공급자적합성확인).
Children's Products Safety Special Act (어린이제품 안전 특별법)
Regulator: KATS. Certificates are issued by designated certification bodies. Tiers: Safety Certification (안전인증), Safety Confirmation (안전확인) and Supplier Conformity Confirmation (공급자적합성확인).
Radio Waves Act (전파법)
Regulator: National Radio Research Agency (RRA, 국립전파연구원) under the Ministry of Science and ICT. Routes: Certification (적합인증), Registration (적합등록) and SDoC (자기적합확인).
Who holds the certificate
The certificate is issued to whoever applies for it. There are two ways to set that up, and we work with both.
In the importer's name
The Korean importer applies for and holds the certificate. Under Spark, that is Kontactic's entity as your Importer of Record; under Blaze, it is your own Korean entity. Certificates, customs filings and Coupang listings then name the same party.
In the foreign manufacturer's name
The manufacturer applies for and holds the certificate itself, under any of the three regimes. For Radio Waves Act (전파법) assessments, a manufacturer with no address or office in Korea must designate a Korean local representative under Article 58-13 — Kontactic takes that role.
Holding the certificate as a foreign manufacturer?
RRA Local Representative
If your company has no address or office in Korea, Article 58-13 of the Radio Waves Act (전파법) requires a Korean local representative for your RRA conformity assessment. We take that role and can file your SDoC or Conformity Registration.
Which products need KC certification?
KC applies by designated category, not by brand or channel. These are the buckets we see most often with Western brands — and the honest answer for everything else.
Electrical appliances & power-connected devices
Anything that plugs into Korean mains — appliances, lighting, power supplies — falls under the electrical-safety regime, with the tier set by the product's risk class.
Batteries, chargers & USB-powered devices
USB- and battery-powered devices often avoid the full electrical-safety path but still face EMC conformity — and lithium batteries and chargers carry KC obligations of their own.
Wireless, Bluetooth & RF devices
Any device that transmits — Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, RF — needs conformity assessment under the Radio Waves Act (전파법), and most electronics need EMC conformity through the RRA whether they transmit or not.
Children's products
Products made for children fall under the Children's Products Safety Special Act, with dedicated testing, certification, and KC marking requirements of their own.
Household & textile goods
A designated list of household and textile products carries KC obligations under the consumer-products side of the safety act — frequently at the self-declaration tier, but with real testing and labeling duties attached.
Not sure? That's the first deliverable.
Send us your product specs and HS codes. We confirm whether KC applies at all, which regime covers your product, and which tier you're on — before you spend anything on testing.
How we run your KC certification
Certification is quoted after product review, because the right path depends entirely on what your product is. Pricing is an agency fee for our work, plus testing, certification and government fees passed through at cost, with the lab invoice attached. The process itself is always the same five moves.
Applicability screening
We map your product's category, HS codes, and risk class to determine whether KC applies at all — and if it does, under which regime and at which tier. No testing budget is committed until that answer is on paper. The final conformity decision rests with the designated test lab and the certification body or RRA.
Test plan & lab coordination
Working with designated Korean test labs, we design the test plan and coordinate the testing. If you hold IECEE CB-scheme reports, we review them first — they can meaningfully reduce electrical-safety re-testing. The labs, and the certification body or RRA, make the final conformity decisions.
Application & documentation
We prepare and file the application under the correct certification holder, with a documentation set built to match your customs filings and marketplace requirements from the start.
Certification & labeling
Once the certification is issued, we guide the KC mark and Korean labeling (표시사항) so packaging is compliant before inventory ships — not corrected after it lands.
Import & listing
Your certificates are wired directly into customs clearance and the Coupang listing flow, so the same documents carry your product from the port to the product page.
Built into your import flow — not bolted on
Most certification agencies stop at the certificate and leave you to make it work with customs and Coupang. Kontactic also runs import, logistics and Coupang operations — so when we handle those for you too, certification, customs and listing documents are produced to match, not reconciled after the fact.
- One operator across certification, customs, and Coupang listing — the documents always agree.
- Under Spark or Blaze, certification is aligned with the actual importer from day one — our entity for Spark, yours for Blaze.
- Sequenced inside onboarding, so testing runs in parallel with the rest of your launch.
- A high-compliance track record, including a commendation from the Commissioner of the Korea Customs Service.
Already tested for CE, FCC, or CB?
Your existing reports may save real time and money. IECEE CB-scheme reports can reduce electrical-safety re-testing in Korea, while acceptance of overseas EMC reports is decided case by case — send us what you have and we'll tell you exactly what's reusable before quoting a test plan. And plan early: Coupang requires KC documentation when listing regulated categories, so certification belongs at the start of your launch timeline, not the end.
Common questions about KC certification
KC (Korea Certification, KC 인증) is South Korea's mandatory conformity mark for designated products, covering electrical safety, radio and EMC conformity, and children's product safety. Regulated products must be certified and carry the KC mark before they can be legally imported and sold in Korea.
It depends on the category: most electronics, anything wireless or Bluetooth, batteries and chargers, children's products, and a designated list of household goods are regulated, while many other products aren't. We screen your HS codes and product specs and tell you whether KC applies — and at which tier — before you commit to anything. The screening is done with our test-lab partners; the final conformity decision rests with the designated test lab and the certification body or RRA.
It's tier-dependent: self-declaration categories can complete in a few weeks, while products requiring accredited-lab testing and a factory audit can take several months. The applicability screening tells you which path your product is on, so you can sequence certification alongside the rest of your launch rather than after it.
An agency fee for our work, quoted after we review your product. Testing, certification and government fees are passed through at cost, with the lab invoice attached.
Sometimes. IECEE CB-scheme reports often reduce electrical-safety re-testing in Korea, while acceptance of overseas EMC reports is decided case by case. We review your existing reports before quoting a test plan, so you only pay for the testing Korea actually requires.
Whoever applies for it — certification is holder-specific. In the importer's name, the Korean importer holds it: Kontactic's entity as your Importer of Record under Spark, or your own Korean entity under Blaze, so certificates, customs filings and listings match. In the manufacturer's name, the foreign manufacturer holds it; for Radio Waves Act assessments, a manufacturer with no address or office in Korea needs a Korean local representative under Article 58-13, a role Kontactic takes. Under our agreement, you remain responsible for product compliance and indemnify us.
For regulated categories, yes — Coupang requires KC documentation at listing time, especially for Rocket Growth. We sequence certification inside your onboarding so testing and documentation run in parallel with the rest of your launch preparation, instead of surfacing as a last-step blocker.
Find out what your product actually needs.
Start with a KC screening. We'll confirm whether certification applies, which tier you're on, what's reusable from your existing test reports, and how it slots into your Coupang launch timeline — before you commit to any testing.