In an effort to provide consumers with a better understanding of what Certification marks are on the products they purchase and to ease the burden of various Certification fees on the manufacturers of the products, the Korea institute of technical standards (KATS) announced on August 20, 2008 that it would begin a new Certification system, KC (Korea Certification), on January 1, 2009. The scheme was first implemented by the ministry of knowledge economy in July 2009 and expanded to all departments in late 2010.



KC certification scope



According to "Korea electrical supplies safety management law" regulation, from January 1, 2009 electrical supplies safety certification is divided into mandatory certification and self-regulatory (voluntary) certification two.



Mandatory certification refers to: all electronic products in the mandatory products must obtain the KC Mark certification before they can be sold in the Korean market, and they need to be subject to factory inspection and product sampling test every year.



Self-regulatory (voluntary) certification means that all electronic products in the category of voluntary products only need to be tested to obtain a certificate and do not need to undergo factory inspection. The certificate is valid for 5 years.



Scope of product certification: electrical products with input voltage between 50 and 1000, classified according to IECEE, including wire and cable, electrical switches, capacitors and power filters, household insulation transformers, power tools, household appliances, electronic entertainment and information technology equipment (IT), etc.).



KC certification process



1. Apply for certification



2. Submit product related materials



3. Test the product



4. Factory audit (voluntary not subject to factory audit)



5. Comprehensive investigation



6. Issue certificates



Information required for KC certification



1. Application;



2. Factory questionnaire;



3. Specification;



4. Parts list;



5. List of derived models;



6. Circuit diagram;



7. Parts specification;



8. The tag;



9. Product photos;



10. Parts distribution drawing or photos;



11. Authorization letter designated by the agent;



12. Application for change;



13. Information to be kept by the applicant;



14. Others: some documents recording electrical characteristics. The following explanation:



A. Application for safety certification of electrical appliances (compulsory products), application for self-regulatory safety confirmation of electrical appliances and self-regulatory safety confirmation statement of electrical appliances (self-regulatory products); B. List of parts that directly affect safety; C. electrical circuit diagram;



D. detailed specification of transformer (for related products);



E. List of insulation materials (temperature, pressure resistance or fire resistance grade, etc.); F. Product certificate (including Korean product certificate); G. Label;



H. Certificate of authorization of the agent (required for compulsory products; For self - disciplined products by the agent when required).



The certification period is 4-6 weeks