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KRKorean with some English namesOfficial records available

South Korea cosmetic ingredient regulations

The Korean source remains canonical; English-only material is incomplete.

Regulator
Ministry of Food and Drug Safety
Source language
Korean with some English names
Coverage version
MFDS Notice 2026-19, effective 18 March 2026

What this list is

South Korea's cosmetic ingredient rules are published by the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety in Korean. The English material that circulates is partial, and the gaps are not marked.

  • 1,320 Korean records: 1,077 prohibited, 243 restricted.
  • The regulator is the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, under the Cosmetics Act.
  • The Korean text is canonical; English versions are incomplete rather than merely later.
  • Functional cosmetics — sunscreen, whitening, anti-wrinkle and others — carry a separate reporting or approval route.

The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety maintains the prohibited and restricted ingredient lists under the Cosmetics Act, and publishes them in Korean. This matters more than the usual caution about translations. The English material in circulation is not a delayed version of the Korean; it is a subset, and nothing in it indicates which entries were left out.

The second thing to know is that Korea separates ordinary cosmetics from functional cosmetics. A product claiming sun protection, skin whitening, anti-wrinkle action, hair loss relief and several other functions falls into the functional category, which carries its own reporting or approval requirement and its own constraints on ingredients and concentrations. A formula that is unremarkable as a cosmetic can move into that category on the strength of a single claim.

The 1,320 records here come from the Korean source. Where a substance has no Korean record, that is the absence of an entry we could resolve, not a finding about the substance.

Checked against

Official ingredient records

1320 matching records
RestrictedBinding ruleNo English translationOfficial-source import checked

만수국꽃 추출물 또는오일

CAS 91722-29-1 · EC 294-431-3

Listed by the Korean MFDS as a cosmetic ingredient requiring conditions of use.

Conditions: ?사용 후 씻어내는 제품에 0.1% ?사용 후 씻어내지 않는 제품에 0.01% · ?원료 중 알파 테르티에닐(테르티오펜) 함량은 0.35% 이하 ?자외선 차단제품 또는 자외선을 이용한 태닝(천연 또는 인공)을 목적으로 하는 제품에는 사용금지 ?만수국아 재비꽃 추출물 또는 오일과 혼합 사용 시 ‘사용 후 씻어내는 제품’에 0.1%, ‘사용 후 씻어내지 않는 제품’에 0.01%를 초과하지 않아야 함 · Tagetespatula, ext.

Source:화장품 안전기준 등에 관한 규정, 별표 2, record 2-287 · version 2026-19 · effective March 18, 2026 · source checked 2026-08-30

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RestrictedBinding ruleNo English translationOfficial-source import checked

만수국아재비꽃 추출물또는 오일

CAS 91770-75-1 · EC 294-862-7

Listed by the Korean MFDS as a cosmetic ingredient requiring conditions of use.

Conditions: ?사용 후 씻어내는 제품에 0.1% ?사용 후 씻어내지 않는 제품에 0.01% · ?원료 중 알파 테르티에닐(테르티오펜) 함량은 0.35% 이하 ?자외선 차단제품 또는 자외선을 이용한 태닝(천연 또는 인공)을 목적으로 하는 제품에는 사용금지 ?만수국꽃 추출물 또는 오일과 혼합 사용 시 ‘사용 후 씻어내는 제품’에 0.1%, ‘사용 후 씻어내지 않는 제품’에 0.01%를 초과하지 않아야 함 · Tagetesminutaextract

Source:화장품 안전기준 등에 관한 규정, 별표 2, record 2-288 · version 2026-19 · effective March 18, 2026 · source checked 2026-08-30

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RestrictedBinding ruleNo English translationOfficial-source import checked

머스크자일렌

CAS 81-15-2 · EC 201-329-4

Listed by the Korean MFDS as a cosmetic ingredient requiring conditions of use.

Conditions: ?향수류 향료원액을 8% 초과하여 함유하는 제품에 1.0%, 향료원액을 8% 이하로 함유하는 제품에 0.4% ?기타 제품에 0.03%

Source:화장품 안전기준 등에 관한 규정, 별표 2, record 2-289 · version 2026-19 · effective March 18, 2026 · source checked 2026-08-30

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RestrictedBinding ruleNo English translationOfficial-source import checked

머스크케톤

CAS 81-14-1 · EC 201-328-9

Listed by the Korean MFDS as a cosmetic ingredient requiring conditions of use.

Conditions: ?향수류 향료원액을 8% 초과하여 함유하는 제품 1.4%, 향료원액을 8% 이하로 함유하는 제품 0.56% ?기타 제품에 0.042%

Source:화장품 안전기준 등에 관한 규정, 별표 2, record 2-290 · version 2026-19 · effective March 18, 2026 · source checked 2026-08-30

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RestrictedBinding ruleNo English translationOfficial-source import checked

메칠 2-옥티노에이트(메칠헵틴카보네이트)

CAS 111-12-6 · EC 203-836-6

Listed by the Korean MFDS as a cosmetic ingredient requiring conditions of use.

Conditions: 0.01% (메칠옥틴카보 네이트와 병용 시 최종제품에서 두 성분의 합은 0.01%, 메칠옥틴카보 네이트는 0.002%)

Source:화장품 안전기준 등에 관한 규정, 별표 2, record 2-292 · version 2026-19 · effective March 18, 2026 · source checked 2026-08-30

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RestrictedBinding ruleNo English translationOfficial-source import checked

메칠옥틴카보네이트(메칠논-2-이노에이트)

CAS 111-80-8 · EC 203-909-2

Listed by the Korean MFDS as a cosmetic ingredient requiring conditions of use.

Conditions: 0.002% (메칠 2-옥티노에이 트와 병용 시 최종제품에서 두 성분의 합이 0.01%)

Source:화장품 안전기준 등에 관한 규정, 별표 2, record 2-293 · version 2026-19 · effective March 18, 2026 · source checked 2026-08-30

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ProhibitedBinding ruleNo English translationOfficial-source import checked

메칠유게놀(다만, 식물추출물에 의하여자연적으로 함유되어 다음 농도 이하인 경우에는 제외. 향료원액을 8% 초과하여 함유하는 제품 0.01%, 향료원액을 8% 이하로 함유하는 제품0.004%, 방향용 크림 0.002%, 사용 후씻어내는 제품 0.001%, 기타 0.0002%)

CAS 93-15-2 · EC 202-223-0

Listed by the Korean MFDS as a substance that may not be used in cosmetics.

Source:화장품 안전기준 등에 관한 규정, 별표 1, record 1-301 · version 2026-19 · effective March 18, 2026 · source checked 2026-08-30

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RestrictedBinding ruleNo English translationOfficial-source import checked

메칠이소치아졸리논

CAS 2682-20-4 · EC 220-239-6

Listed by the Korean MFDS as a cosmetic ingredient requiring conditions of use.

Conditions: 사용 후 씻어내는 제품에 0.0015% (단, 메칠클로로이소 치아졸리논과 메칠이소치아졸리 논 혼합물과 병행 사용 금지) · 기타 제품에는 사용금지

Source:화장품 안전기준 등에 관한 규정, 별표 2, record 2-10 · version 2026-19 · effective March 18, 2026 · source checked 2026-08-30

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RestrictedBinding ruleNo English translationOfficial-source import checked

메칠클로로이소치아졸리논과 메칠이소치아졸리논 혼합물(염화마그네슘과 질산마그네슘 포함)

Listed by the Korean MFDS as a cosmetic ingredient requiring conditions of use.

Conditions: 사용 후 씻어내는 제품에 0.0015% (메칠클로로이소 치아졸리논:메 칠이소치아졸리 논=(3:1)혼합물 로서) · 기타 제품에는 사용금지

Source:화장품 안전기준 등에 관한 규정, 별표 2, record 2-11 · version 2026-19 · effective March 18, 2026 · source checked 2026-08-30

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RestrictedBinding ruleNo English translationOfficial-source import checked

메톡시프로필아미노사이클로헥세닐리덴에톡시에틸사이아노아세테이트(신설)

CAS 1419401-88-9

Listed by the Korean MFDS as a cosmetic ingredient requiring conditions of use.

Conditions: 3% · ?흡입을 통해 사용자의 폐에 노출될 수 있는 제품에는 사용하지 말 것 ?니트로 화제를 함유하고 있는 제품에는 사용 금지

Source:화장품 안전기준 등에 관한 규정, 별표 2, record 2-148 · version 2026-19 · effective March 18, 2026 · source checked 2026-08-30

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Market coverage contract

Complete current appendix dataset
Included scope
All rows in official Appendix 1 (prohibited) and Appendix 2 (restricted) of the Safety Standards for Cosmetics.
If no match is found
Korean source wording is canonical and other positive lists/notices may still apply to the formulation.

Complete verification checklist

  1. Match the Korean canonical substance name and identifiers.
  2. Review all Appendix 1 and 2 matches and conditions.
  3. Check functional-cosmetic and positive-list requirements where applicable.
  4. Confirm current MFDS notice, responsible seller and label obligations.

How South Korea differs from other markets

Comparing this market's imported rules against every other market's for the same substance. A market with no imported rule for a substance is left out of that comparison rather than treated as permitting it.

161 substances where South Korea is stricter than some markets

A formula cleared elsewhere can fail here.

Boric AcidDiethylene GlycolPhenolCatalaseDichloromethaneDihydrocoumarinMethyl AlcoholOxyquinolineThiramZirconium Powder1-NAPHTHOLBenzoyl PeroxideFormaldehydeHydroquinoneP-HYDROXYANISOLE1,5-NAPHTHALENEDIOL2,7-NAPHTHALENEDIOL2-AMINO-6-CHLORO-4-NITROPHENOL2-METHYLRESORCINOL3-NITRO-P-HYDROXYETHYLAMINOPHENOL4-AMINO-2-HYDROXYTOLUENE4-AMINO-3-NITROPHENOL4-AMINO-M-CRESOLButoxyethanolDichloropheneM-AMINOPHENOLMethyl EugenolMethylene GlycolNitromethaneP-PHENYLENEDIAMINEPhenyl Methyl PyrazoloneSilver NitrateTalcTOLUENE-2,5-DIAMINE1,3-BIS-(2,4-DIAMINOPHENOXY)PROPANE1-HYDROXYETHYL 4,5-DIAMINO Pyrazole Sulfate2,6-DIAMINOPYRIDINE2,6-DIHYDROXY-3,4-DIMETHYLPYRIDINE2,6-DIHYDROXYETHYLAMINOTOLUENE2-AMINO-3-HYDROXYPYRIDINE

and 121 more — see the full comparison

13 substances where South Korea is more permissive than some markets

Permitted here under conditions and prohibited, or more tightly held, elsewhere — so a formula built for this market may not travel.

Chloramine TChloropheneHydrogen PeroxideQUATERNIUM-15Sodium PerborateButylphenyl MethylpropionalSilver NitrateZinc PyrithioneMethenamine4-METHYLBENZYLIDENE CamphorSodium BorateSodium HydroxymethylglycinateSodium Iodate

Official sources and legal role

South Korea MFDS cosmetic ingredient data

Ingredient identity and separate restriction/regulation data endpoints

Legal meaning: Korean source is canonical; English materials alone are not complete enough for certification

Available language: Korean with English names and CAS fields

What this market page can answer

Source and authority

Identify the official material and the regulator responsible for it: Ministry of Food and Drug Safety.

Language and scope

See whether usable English or bilingual material exists and what the mapped source actually covers. Current source language: Korean with some English names.

Evidence status

Browse ingredient-level records imported from official sources. Each row states whether it passed deterministic source checks or human editorial review.

How to verify an ingredient for this market

  1. Search the ingredient by INCI name, CAS number or EC number and record the exact identity.
  2. Open each official source above and check the current version, product scope, concentration limits and required warnings.
  3. Confirm effective dates and whether an English text is official, reviewed or only contextual.
  4. Treat a missing local match as unknown, never as permission or a safety conclusion.
Screen an INCI listSearch ingredientsReview source methodology