Sources and method

1. Definitions: cosmetics manufacturing excludes processes that only do secondary packaging or labelling; a Responsible Cosmetic Distributor manages quality and safety while distributing or selling, or arranges online purchase-agency deals; a customised cosmetic is one mixed with another product or an approved ingredient, or decanted. Cosmetics Act art. 2 items 3-2, 10, 11 and 12, Act No. 22113, in force 20 Oct 2026.

2. Three business types, and their sub-types: own production, OEM-commissioned, imported, and online purchase-agency arrangement for distributors; mixing and decanting for customised-cosmetics shops. Cosmetics Act art. 2-2; Enforcement Decree art. 2, Presidential Decree No. 36176, in force 2 Apr 2026.

3. Registration and its conditions: manufacturers and distributors register with MFDS; distributors keep quality-control and post-sale safety standards and a Responsible Sales Manager; customised-cosmetics shops report and employ a certified mixer. Cosmetics Act arts. 3 and 3-2. Penalty for doing either business without registering or reporting: up to three years in prison or a KRW 30 million fine, art. 36(1).

4. Documents and offices: Enforcement Rule art. 3(2) (manufacturer), art. 4(2) (distributor: the two standards and the manager’s qualification papers, none for the purchase-agency type), art. 8-2 (customised-cosmetics shop). The registers record a resident or alien registration number, art. 4(4). Enforcement Rule, Ordinance No. 2109, in force 2 Apr 2026.

5. Who can be the Responsible Sales Manager: a doctor or pharmacist; a bachelor’s degree or higher in science or engineering or a listed field such as cosmetic science, Korean medicine or nursing; an associate degree in a listed cosmetics-related field plus one year in cosmetics manufacturing or quality control; anyone who passed the certified-mixer exam; anyone with two years in cosmetics manufacturing or quality control; or someone who completed an MFDS-designated course, for the products the notice lists. With ten or fewer regular employees, a qualified representative may do the job. Rule art. 8(1)(3); MFDS interpretation of 22 Jul 2024.

6. Certified-mixer exam: held at least once a year, written, four subjects; pass with 60% of the total and at least 40% in each subject. Rule art. 8-5.

7. Customised-cosmetics practice: no arbitrary mixing or decanting of products made for sale to consumers (Act art. 5(3)); safety and record-keeping duties (Rule art. 12-2); solid face soap is exempt from the decanting rule (Rule art. 2-2); no pre-mixing or pre-decanting for stock without checking the customer, and contents must be supplied for that purpose (MFDS interpretation of 24 Apr 2026, citing the MFDS notice on customised-cosmetics sellers).

8. An OEM-made product sold under your own brand needs Responsible Cosmetic Distributor registration: MFDS interpretation of 24 Feb 2026, published on law.go.kr.

9. Reports and training: ingredient list before sale and annual volume by the end of February, importer exemption, customised-cosmetics ingredient list (Rule art. 13); manager and mixer training within six months, then yearly (Rule art. 14).

10. Mail-order report: E-Commerce Act art. 12(1), Act No. 21312, in force 21 Jul 2026. The small-seller exemption is set by a Fair Trade Commission notice that we could not open on law.go.kr on the date above, so this site does not state the threshold.

11. Price shown by whoever sells to consumers: Cosmetics Act art. 11(1).

The route check maps each plan you tick to the business types in Enforcement Decree article 2 and adds the mail-order report for online sales. The manager check tests the routes in Enforcement Rule article 8(1) in order and stops at the first that fits; for gaps it shows the shortest experience route and the exam.

The small-seller exemption from the mail-order report, the designated-course route (item 3-3), foreign-degree equivalence, processing times and fees. We could not confirm them to the same standard, so they are not stated.

We re-read every article each quarter by script and compare it with the text we relied on. If you spot a change first, write to hello@go.milleuno.kr with the line and the source; we check it against the official text and note the change with its date.