Ban on distribution & sale of animal-tested cosmetics
Law & Regulation
In Effect
February 4, 2017
Summary
South Korea’s National Assembly amended the Cosmetics Act on 3 February 2016 (Act No. 14027) to insert Article 15-2, prohibiting responsible cosmetic distributors and customized cosmetic sellers from distributing or selling cosmetics tested on animals, or manufactured using raw materials that underwent animal testing, subject to defined exceptions.
The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety implemented the prohibition from 4 February 2017, with an administrative fine of 1 million KRW for manufacturers and importers placing non-compliant products on the market after that date.
A 2019 government report cited in later advocacy coverage recorded 2,106 animals used in toxicity and other safety assessments under cosmetics-related law in 2018, indicating that animal testing connected to cosmetics regulation continued under the law’s exemptions after implementation.
Background Context
Before this amendment, the Cosmetics Act and its Enforcement Rule regulated cosmetic safety and functional cosmetics but contained no explicit prohibition on distributing or selling animal-tested cosmetics; safety data including toxicity, irritation, sensitization, and phototoxicity testing could be generated using animal tests under the existing Enforcement Rule.
In January 2015, the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs announced a Five Year Plan for Animal Welfare that included phasing out cosmetics animal testing following a sequence comparable to the European Union model of finished products first, then ingredients. A bill introduced in the National Assembly on 11 March 2015 aimed to restrict animal testing for cosmetics where accepted non-animal alternatives existed, with explicit exemptions, laying groundwork for the eventual statutory language.
Major domestic manufacturers, including Amorepacific, had already adopted voluntary no-animal-testing policies from 2008, extended to partners from 2013, providing an industry precedent ahead of the statutory change. International campaign organizations and domestic parliamentarians engaged with the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety and legislators over several years on cosmetics testing and alternatives during this period.
System Impact
Direction
Neutral / Administrative
Type
Alters Legal Basis
Significance
Moderate
From 4 February 2017, responsible cosmetic distributors and customized cosmetic sellers in South Korea have been legally prohibited from distributing or selling cosmetics tested on animals or manufactured using animal-tested raw materials, subject to exemptions including hazard assessment of certain raw materials and compliance with other regulatory frameworks. The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety applies an administrative fine of 1 million KRW to manufacturers and importers placing non-compliant products on the market after the implementation date.
Article 15-2 remains part of the consolidated Cosmetics Act as of at least Act No. 20901 (1 April 2025), with no documented repeal or suspension. A 2019 government report recorded 2,106 animals used in toxicity and other safety assessments under cosmetics-related law in 2018; no time-series data comparing animal use before and after 2017 is available in sources consulted, and no MFDS enforcement statistics (such as the number of fines imposed under Article 15-2) were located.
Anticipated Effects
If the exemptions in Article 15-2 are narrowed or enforcement is intensified over time, cosmetics-related animal testing conducted specifically for the Korean market could be expected to decline further; this is a conditional expectation, and available sources do not document a trend in this direction beyond the single 2018 data point. Whether animal use associated with Korean cosmetics regulation is being reduced in net terms, or redirected into other legal channels such as export-driven testing or regulatory safety assessments falling under the law’s exemptions, is not established in available sources.
Significance Rationale
Assigned Neutral / Administrative for impact direction because, while Article 15-2 creates a real statutory restriction on market access for animal-tested cosmetics, available sources do not provide before-and-after data establishing a documented contraction in cosmetics-linked animal testing; the one available data point, 2,106 animals used in cosmetics-related toxicity and safety assessments in 2018, a year after implementation, confirms continued animal use under the law’s exemptions rather than establishing a measured reduction.
Assigned Alters Legal Basis as the primary mechanism, since the amendment creates an explicit legal prohibition on distributing or selling animal-tested cosmetics or cosmetics using animal-tested raw materials, directly changing what is legally marketable, independent of whether a net reduction in animal use has been demonstrated.
Assigned Moderate significance because the prohibition applies to the entire cosmetics sector marketed in South Korea and carries an enforcement mechanism (administrative fines), but it contains defined exemptions for regulatory safety assessments and compliance with foreign market requirements, and available sources do not quantify the scale of cosmetics-related animal testing before or after implementation.
Within The System
Key Actors
The National Assembly of the Republic of Korea adopted Act No. 14027 on 3 February 2016, inserting Article 15-2 into the Cosmetics Act. The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety administers the Cosmetics Act, implemented the prohibition from 4 February 2017, and set the associated administrative fine. The Prime Minister’s Office issued implementing ordinances to the Enforcement Rule of the Cosmetics Act, including Ordinance No. 1357 of 12 January 2017. Responsible cosmetic distributors and customized cosmetic sellers, including major domestic manufacturers such as Amorepacific Group, are the entities directly subject to the prohibition.
Notice an inaccuracy or omission?
If you believe information on this page is incorrect, incomplete, or missing important context, you may submit a suggested correction for review.