The KC mark, handled end to end.
KC is Korea's mandatory safety certification for designated products — and for imported goods, it is in practice applied for and held on the Korean side, typically by the importer. Kontactic screens whether your product needs it, coordinates accredited-lab testing, files the application, and gets the KC mark and Korean labeling right, so what lands in Korea is certified, labeled, and ready to import and list.
What KC certification actually is
KC (Korea Certification, KC 인증) is South Korea's mandatory safety certification for designated consumer products. 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." For consumer brands, the mark sits on top of three regimes that matter most. The Electrical Appliances and Consumer Products Safety Control Act covers electrical and household goods in three tiers — Safety Certification (안전인증), with accredited testing plus a factory audit for the highest-risk products; Safety Confirmation (안전확인), with accredited-lab testing and a declaration; and Supplier Conformity Confirmation (공급자적합성확인), a self-declaration backed by testing. The Radio Waves Act (전파법) governs conformity assessment for wireless, Bluetooth, and RF devices — and the EMC side of most electronics — through the RRA. And the Children's Products Safety Special Act adds its own testing and marking rules for anything made for children.
For imported products, certification is holder-specific: each importer normally obtains and holds its own, and 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.
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. 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.
Test plan & lab coordination
We design the test plan and coordinate accredited Korean labs. If you hold IECEE CB-scheme reports, we review them first — they can meaningfully reduce electrical-safety re-testing.
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 is the same operator running your import authority, logistics, and Coupang operations — so certification, customs clearance, 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, certification is aligned with the actual Importer of Record from day one.
- 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 safety certification mark for designated consumer 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.
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.