Skip to main content
CosIng Checker
CosIng Checker
EU cosmetic ingredients, restrictions and safety
Login
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

살리실릭애씨드 및 그염류

CAS 69-72-7; 824-35-1; 18917-89-0; 59866-70-5; 54-21-7; 578-36-9; 2174-16-5; 17671-53-3 · EC 200-712-3

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

Conditions: ?인체세정용 제품류에 살리실릭애 씨드로서 2% ?사용 후 씻어내는 두발용 제품류에 살리실릭애 씨드로서 3% · ?영유아용 제품류 또는 만 13세 이하 어린이가 사용할 수 있음을 특정하여 표시하는 제품에는 사용금지 (다만, 샴푸는 제외) ?기능성화 장품의 유효성분 으로 사용하는 경우에 한하며 기타 제품에는 사용금지 · 살리실릭애씨드칼슘살리실레이트마그네슘살리실레이트엠이에이-살리실레이트소듐살리실레이트포타슘살리실레이트티이에이-살리실레이트베타인살리실레이트

Source:화장품 안전기준 등에 관한 규정, 별표 2, record 2-318 · version 2026-19 · effective March 18, 2026 · source checked 2026-08-30

View full recordIngredient profile
RestrictedBinding ruleNo English translationOfficial-source import checked

살리실릭애씨드 및그 염류

CAS 69-72-7; 824-35-1; 18917-89-0 · EC 200-712-3

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

Conditions: 살리실릭애씨드 로서 0.5% · 영유아용 제품류 또는 만 13세 이하 어린이가 사용할 수 있음을 특정하여 표시하는 제품에는 사용금지(다만, 샴푸는 제외) · 살리실릭애씨드칼슘살리실레이트마그네슘살리실레이트

Source:화장품 안전기준 등에 관한 규정, 별표 2, record 2-50 · version 2026-19 · effective March 18, 2026 · source checked 2026-08-30

View full recordIngredient profile
ProhibitedBinding ruleNo English translationOfficial-source import checked

석유 정제과정에서 얻어지는 부산물(증류물, 가스오일류, 나프타, 윤활그리스, 슬랙왁스, 탄화수소류, 알칸류, 백색 페트롤라툼을 제외한 페트롤라툼,연료오일, 잔류물). 다만, 정제과정이완전히 알려져 있고 발암물질을 함유하지 않음을 보여줄 수 있으면 예외로한다.

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

Source:화장품 안전기준 등에 관한 규정, 별표 1, record 1-517 · version 2026-19 · effective March 18, 2026 · source checked 2026-08-30

View full record
RestrictedBinding ruleNo English translationOfficial-source import checked

세트리모늄 클로라이드,스테아트리모늄 클로라이드

CAS 112-02-7; 112-03-8 · EC 203-928-6

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

Conditions: (단일성분 또는 혼합사용의 합으로서) ?사용 후 씻어내는 두발용 제품류 및 두발용 염색용 제품류에 2.5% ?사용 후 씻어내지 않는 두발용 제품류 및 두발 염색용 제품류에 1.0% · 세트리모늄클로라이드스테아트라이모늄클로라이드

Source:화장품 안전기준 등에 관한 규정, 별표 2, record 2-319 · version 2026-19 · effective March 18, 2026 · source checked 2026-08-30

View full recordIngredient profile
RestrictedBinding ruleNo English translationOfficial-source import checked

소듐나이트라이트

CAS 7632-00-0 · EC 231-555-9

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

Conditions: 0.2% · 2급, 3급 아민 또는 기타 니트로사민 형성물질을 함유하고 있는 제품에는 사용금지

Source:화장품 안전기준 등에 관한 규정, 별표 2, record 2-320 · version 2026-19 · effective March 18, 2026 · source checked 2026-08-30

View full recordIngredient profile
RestrictedBinding ruleNo English translationOfficial-source import checked

소르빅애씨드(헥사-2,4-디에노익 애씨드) 및 그 염류

CAS 110-44-1; 24634-61-5; 590-00-1 · EC 203-768-7

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

Conditions: 소르빅애씨드로 서 0.6% · 소르빅애씨드포타슘솔베이트

Source:화장품 안전기준 등에 관한 규정, 별표 2, record 2-61 · version 2026-19 · effective March 18, 2026 · source checked 2026-08-30

View full recordIngredient profile
RestrictedBinding ruleNo English translationOfficial-source import checked

수용성 징크 염류(징크4-하이드록시벤젠설포네이트와 징크피리치온제외)

CAS 4468-02-4; 14281-83-5 · EC 224-736-9

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

Conditions: 징크로서 1% · 징크글루코네이트징크글라이시네이트

Source:화장품 안전기준 등에 관한 규정, 별표 2, record 2-322 · version 2026-19 · effective March 18, 2026 · source checked 2026-08-30

View full recordIngredient profile
RestrictedBinding ruleNo English translationOfficial-source import checked

시스테인, 아세틸시스테인 및 그 염류

CAS 52-90-4; 3374-22-9; 52-89-1; 616-91-1 · EC 200-157-7

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

Conditions: 퍼머넌트웨이 브용 제품에 시스테인으로 서 3.0~7.5% (다만, 가온2욕식 퍼머넌트웨 이브용 제품의 경우에는 시스테인으로 서 1.5～5.5%, 안정제로서 치오글라이콜 릭애씨드 1.0%를 배합할 수 있으며, 첨가하는 치오글라이콜 릭애씨드의 양을 최대한 1.0%로 했을 때 주성분인 시스테인의 양은 6.5%를 초과할 수 없다) · L-시스테인DL-시스테인시스테인에이치씨엘아세틸시스테인

Source:화장품 안전기준 등에 관한 규정, 별표 2, record 2-359 · version 2026-19 · effective March 18, 2026 · source checked 2026-08-30

View full recordIngredient profile

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