Korea vs EU Cosmetic Ingredient Restrictions Compared

Korea and the EU both control cosmetic ingredients through a list of banned substances and a list of restricted substances, but the same ingredient can be banned in one and allowed in the other.

A product that is fully compliant in Korea can still contain a substance prohibited in the EU, so every ingredient has to be checked against the EU annexes before import. The working tools are the Korea Cosmetic Association’s ingredient dictionary and the EU’s CosIng database.

The table compares the two systems and lists a few ingredients where the rules differ, each checked against the source. Ingredient rules change often.

Korea vs EU cosmetic ingredient restrictions: comparison table

Swipe sideways to see the whole table.

Same structure: banned and restricted lists

Korea sets its banned and restricted ingredients in annexes to an MFDS notice on cosmetic safety standards. Preservatives, UV filters and hair dye ingredients may only be used within listed limits. The EU uses the annexes of Regulation (EC) 1223/2009¹, and Article 15 also bans substances classified as carcinogenic, mutagenic or toxic for reproduction (CMR) unless an exception is granted.

Same ingredient, different answer

Phenoxyethanol is capped at 1% in both systems, and the Korea Cosmetic Association’s ingredient dictionary shows the Korean limit as 1.0%. Many ingredients line up like this, but you cannot assume they all do.

HICC (hydroxyisohexyl 3-cyclohexene carboxaldehyde) was banned in the EU first. Korea followed with MFDS Notice No. 2019-27² of 1 April 2019, which added HICC, atranol and chloroatranol to its banned list (MFDS notice³).

Butylphenyl methylpropional (Lilial) was added to the EU’s Annex II by Regulation (EU) 2021/1902⁴ because of reproductive toxicity concerns, and has been banned since 1 March 2022. The Korean ingredient dictionary entry still shows a 0.14% limit and fragrance allergen labelling. A fragrance compliant in Korea may therefore be unusable in the EU.

Zinc pyrithione was banned in the EU by the same regulation from March 2022. In Korea it can be used at up to 0.5% as a preservative in rinse-off products and up to 1.0% in rinse-off products for dandruff, itching or hair loss (dictionary entry). That is why many Korean anti-dandruff shampoos cannot be sold in the EU.

Watch recent EU amendments

The EU amends its annexes regularly. Regulation (EU) 2024/996⁵ set new limits for vitamin A (retinol and its esters), alpha-arbutin, arbutin and kojic acid, among others, each with its own deadlines for placing on the market and for making available.

The list of fragrance allergens that must be named on labels was also extended in 2023. Korea may have no equivalent rule or a different timeline, so check retinol and brightening products against CosIng and the latest Official Journal just before you import.

A checklist for importers

1. Get the full ingredient list from the supplier and confirm the INCI names.
2. Look up every ingredient in CosIng for annex entries and limits.
3. For preservatives, UV filters and restricted substances, get concentrations from the brand and compare them with the limits.
4. Add fragrance allergens to the label according to EU thresholds.
5. Pass the results to the responsible person for the safety assessment and the product information file.

For the full EU process, read our CPNP notification guide. Great Britain now runs its own rules; see UK SCPN vs EU CPNP.

SEONGWOO GLOBAL supplies Korean skincare to overseas buyers from Seoul. If you need products that fit your market’s ingredient rules, start with the pages below.

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