Seoul City Government found in a recent inspection of overseas products that 11 items sold on Chinese cross-border e-commerce platforms, such as AliExpress, Temu, and Shein, had excessive levels of harmful substances, with some products exceeding the standard by over two hundred times. Seoul is demanding that the three major platforms remove these 11 products from sale.
According to reports from the South Korean news agency and Agence France-Presse, the relevant department of the Seoul city government stated on August 14 that the Seoul Health and Environment Research Institute, along with three external professional organizations, conducted quality and safety checks on products imported through Shein, AliExpress, Temu, and other major online shopping platforms from July 12 to August 9. A total of 144 overseas direct-purchase products were inspected, including 94 food packaging containers, 13 cosmetics, 28 sandals and hats, and nine sanitary products.
The inspection results revealed that various products sold by these three major Chinese cross-border e-commerce platforms did not meet South Korea’s legal standards.
Shein’s two sandals were found to contain phthalates, a type of plasticizer that exceeded the standard by 167.5 times and 229.2 times respectively, while two other sandals had nickel content exceeding 2 to 9 times the limit. Three hats had formaldehyde levels exceeding 2 times the standard, and fabric pH concentrations were also found to be above the limit. Two nail polishes were detected with 3.6 times and 1.4 times excessive levels of dioxane and methanol, respectively.
Temu’s shoe insoles were found to have lead levels exceeding the permissible limit by 11 times.
As reported by Agence France-Presse, two aluminum pots also had nickel content exceeding the standard by 2 times.
An official from Seoul’s Environmental Health team stated that phthalates, which are present in the plasticizer, can affect reproductive functions, such as reducing sperm count, and may lead to infertility or premature birth. Moreover, one of the chemicals “has been classified by the International Agency for Research on Cancer as a human carcinogen, so special caution should be taken to avoid prolonged contact with the human body.”
Formaldehyde is a chemical commonly used in home building products, while dioxane is a potential human carcinogen that can cause liver toxicity.
The South Korean government announced that Seoul officials have requested the three major platforms to remove the 11 products that did not pass quality and safety testing.
Officials from the Seoul City Government emphasized, “Products that exceed legal limits are items directly in contact with the body, such as leather sandals and hats, so citizens should pay special attention.” The city government will continue to conduct regular safety tests and publish the results.