KC Certification
Certification Overview:
The KC Certification, introduced by the Korea Agency for Technology and Standards (KATS), aims to provide consumers with clear understanding of the certification marks displayed on purchased products and to reduce the various certification costs burdening manufacturers. The new certification system was announced on August 20, 2008, and implemented starting January 1, 2009.
The plan, which began implementation in July 2009 under the Ministry of Knowledge Economy (MKE), was initially applied in specific sectors, with expansion to all sectors expected by the end of 2010. The implementation schedule for the KC mark was as follows: December 2008: Amendment of the National Standards Basic Law and its enforcement decree; July 2009: MKE begins implementation of the national unified KC mark; January 2009 to December 2010: Revision of laws related to certification standards; January 2011: Application of the KC mark to all certifications.
Detailed Content
Certification Introduction
The Ministry of Knowledge Economy (MKE) of South Korea announced on August 25, 2008, that the National Standards Committee would implement a new national unified certification mark from July 2009 to December 2010, named the "KC Mark."
The new mark, known as the KC Mark, stands for Korea Certification. The existing 13 mandatory marks were ultimately unified under this new mark.
One of the results of this initiative is the reduction of expenses for suppliers in certification costs, gradually establishing the Korean KC Mark as a globally recognized certification. However, a drawback is that the recently issued KCC mark was only implemented for a few years and was ultimately unified under this new KC mark.
Implementation Plan
December 2008: Update of national basic laws and current regulations
July 2009: MKE starts implementing national unified identification
January 2009 to December 2010: Improvement of regulations related to certification standards
January 2011: Completion of national unified identification for all mandatory certifications
Product Directory
KC Mark Certification Products List (KC Certification Product Catalog)
According to the "Korean Electrical Products Safety Management Act," from January 1, 2009, electrical product safety certifications are divided into mandatory certifications and voluntary certifications.
Mandatory certification refers to: All electronic products belonging to mandatory product categories must obtain KC Mark certification before they can be sold in the Korean market. Annual factory inspections and product sampling tests are required.
Voluntary certification refers to: All electronic products belonging to voluntary product categories only require testing to obtain a certificate and do not need to undergo factory inspections. The certificate is valid for 5 years.
Review Requirements
Initial Factory Inspection Requirements for KC Certification:
Under Korean safety regulations, after accepting an application, an initial factory inspection is required before authorization. According to the requirements of the safety law, a preliminary assessment of the factory's quality control system is conducted. The following aspects are involved:
Factories must produce certified products that comply with the certification implementation rules and the quality assurance capabilities confirmed by the certification body. According to Korean safety certification laws and regulations of the Korea Testing Laboratory (KTL), your factory should have the following documented procedures or provisions, which should be adapted to factory quality management and product quality control:
1) Product change control procedures (e.g., after the certified product change application is approved by the certification body, the relevant department must strictly follow the approved change content to issue technical documents to the relevant department for proper implementation of certified product changes. Unauthorized changes cannot apply certification marks to changed products.)
2) Document and data control procedures
3) Quality record control procedures {Including the record retention period of at least 3 years (only for purchase, routine and operation inspection records)}
4) Routine inspection and confirmation inspection procedures
5) Non-conforming product control procedures
6) Inspection or verification procedures for key components and materials
7) Internal quality audit procedures
8) Process operation instructions Inspection standards, instrument equipment operating procedures, management systems and other procedures Factories should retain at least the following quality records to confirm that the factory has indeed conducted all production inspections and production tests, and the quality records should be true and effective.
9) Routine inspection and confirmation inspection records of products; Key components and materials for purchasing inspection/verification records and supplier-provided certificates
① Inspection and test equipment calibration or inspection records;
② Routine inspection and confirmation (operation) inspection records;
③ Daily inspection records of safety equipment on production lines (workshops);
④ Non-conforming product (purchase, routine and operation) disposal records;
⑤ Records of internal audits;
⑥ Records of corrective measures taken in response to customer complaints;
⑦ Records of non-conforming correction in operation inspection;
Annual Factory Review Requirements:
After certificate authorization, the certification body conducts an annual follow-up review of the factory once a year. The main purpose is to check the consistency of the factory's quality control system and whether it can continue to meet the standards of the safety law.
Annual factory review items are divided into two parts
1) Review of quality documents, quality records, and relevant content of manufacturing sites, basic requirements and content similar to initial review.
2) It is necessary to confirm the consistency of all products authorized by KC Mark. According to the attached page of the product authorization certificate (list of key components), confirm the key components, materials, circuits, structures, etc. of certified products to see if they are consistent.
Sampling Requirements:
So far, 216 products have been included in the scope of KC Mark mandatory certification. Korean safety regulations stipulate that all types of products must be sampled once a year, so each product has one sampling per year.
The sampling method is;
During the factory review by the factory inspector, the inspector seals the sample when there is production or stock on site, and the factory must send the sample to the designated address within 3 months.
If there is no production or stock during the factory inspection, the factory must send the designated sample to the designated address within 6 months.
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