[2026 National Assembly Audit] 12,273 Electronics Products "Self-Certified"... Zero Voluntary Noncompliance Reports in Two Years

Two Years After Radio Waves Act Revision, No Voluntary Reports from Companies
Government Post-Market Surveillance Identifies 530 Cases of Non-Compliance

The “voluntary reporting of non-compliance” system, introduced to strengthen post-market surveillance while easing radio certification regulations, has received not a single report in the more than two years since it took effect. More than 12,000 products that underwent “self-conformity verification,” under which companies conduct their own testing in place of certification, have entered the market, but critics say the staffing and budget for post-market surveillance have remained unchanged.

Rep. Han Junho of the Democratic Party of Korea. Yonhap News.

According to data submitted by the Ministry of Science and ICT to Han Junho, a lawmaker from the Democratic Party of Korea and a member of the National Assembly’s Science, ICT, Broadcasting and Communications Committee, companies voluntarily reported zero cases of non-compliance between the enforcement of the revised Radio Waves Act in July 2024 and September this year. In contrast, the government has identified 530 cases of non-compliant equipment through post-market surveillance since last year alone.

The revised Radio Waves Act introduced a self-conformity verification system that allows companies to sell equipment without registering it with the government if they test it themselves and confirm that it meets standards, provided it poses a low risk from electromagnetic waves. In return, companies that learn of a product defect or non-compliance with standards are required to report it to the government within five days and take corrective action or recall the product.

A total of 12,273 products had entered the market under the self-conformity verification system by September this year. Household appliances powered by USB or batteries accounted for the largest share, at 33.3%.

During the same period, post-market surveillance was conducted on 3,783 products covered by the self-conformity verification system, and 130 were found to be non-compliant. The number of non-compliant products identified rose from one in 2024 to 51 in 2025 and 78 through September this year. The Ministry of Science and ICT said this was the result of strengthening post-market surveillance in line with the introduction of the system.

The share of non-compliant products manufactured overseas also increased. The proportion rose from 72.3% in 2022 to 82.3% last year. Of the 242 non-compliant products identified through September this year, 220 were manufactured overseas, accounting for 90.9%.

Meanwhile, conditions for post-market surveillance have changed little. The number of staff responsible for surveillance was effectively unchanged, rising from 16 in 2022 to 17 this year, while the budget did not increase, falling from 685 million won in 2022 to 678 million won last year.

“Easing regulations to reduce the certification burden on businesses was a necessary change, but it must be accompanied by post-market surveillance that properly monitors the products entering the market,” Han said. “With thousands of self-conformity-verified products entering the market every year, we need to review the monitoring system.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.