This article was posted on the ChosunBiz RM Report site on May 26, 2025, at 5:37 p.m.
The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety has launched a stringent crackdown on indiscriminate cosmetic false advertising occurring online. This is to eliminate false and exaggerated advertisements featuring expressions such as 'doctor recommended', 'hospital exclusive', and 'improving skin inflammation'. The ministry has revised the 'Guidelines for Cosmetic Labeling and Advertising Management' and has significantly strengthened regulations.
◇ 237 cases of violations of the Cosmetics Act detected
According to the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety on the 26th, 237 cases violating the Cosmetics Act were detected in a recent inspection of cosmetic advertisements distributed and sold online in collaboration with the Korea Cosmetic Association. The main targets of enforcement were advertisements that exaggerated product efficacy or could mislead consumers regarding products used in medical institutions.
Looking at the types of detected advertisements, those that could be misperceived as pharmaceuticals accounted for the largest share at 48%. This was followed by ▲ advertisements that deceive consumers or present a risk of misunderstanding at 38% ▲ and advertisements misrepresenting general cosmetics as functional cosmetics or differing from the functional cosmetics review content at 14%. The ministry has requested a blocking of access to these advertisements with the Korea Communications Standards Commission and others.
This crackdown was conducted in accordance with the recently revised 'Guidelines for Cosmetic Labeling and Advertising Management.' The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety established guidelines for cosmetic advertising in 2011, and this year marks their 8th revision. The latest revision is interpreted as a measure to enhance consumer protection amid the expansion of influencer marketing centered on online commerce and social networking services, which has made advertising control more difficult.
The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety analyzed cases of false and exaggerated advertising and newly designated repeatedly problematic phrases, providing specific criteria and examples. A representative from the ministry stated, 'The revised guidelines aim to protect consumers from false and exaggerated advertising and provide specific criteria and examples to allow cosmetic businesses to advertise reasonably.'
Key contents of the revised guidelines include prohibiting expressions such as ▲ designation or recommendation by medical professionals ▲ expressions derived from human sources ▲ expressions that could mislead regarding product usage ▲ and prohibiting expressions like 'reducing skin age by n years.'
For example, expressions such as 'hospital use', 'hospital exclusive', 'dermatology exclusive', 'dermatology procedure exclusive', 'pharmacy use', and 'pharmacy exclusive' are prohibited because they could mislead consumers into believing they are designated for use by medical institutions or pharmacies. Expressions that could be misinterpreted to contain human-derived stem cells, exosomes, or liposomes are also banned. While it is essential to clearly express human-derived ingredients, it should not be expressed as 'EXO cosmetics', but 'plant-derived EXO' or 'milk-derived EXO' is acceptable. Additionally, expressions such as 'reducing skin age by 10 years', 'looking 5 years younger', and 'skin age -3 years' are prohibited, and the use of quantitative and objective indicators like 'skin aging index' is recommended instead.
Expressions such as needles, micro-needles, microneedles, MTS (Microneedle Therapy System) are also prohibited. Phrases like 'micro-needles penetrate deeply into the skin' exceed the scope of cosmetic usage. A representative from the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety remarked, 'For cosmetics, it is only possible to use silica or other ingredients in a needle shape to widen the area of contact with the skin; it merely presses onto the skin without penetrating the epidermis. Delivering active ingredients using invasive methods like needles is not considered a cosmetic.'
Furthermore, advertisements claiming pharmaceutical efficacy such as 'reducing skin inflammation', 'skin regeneration', and 'anti-inflammatory' or misrepresenting general cosmetics as functional cosmetics are also not permitted.
◇ The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety aims to eradicate false and exaggerated advertising
In this inspection, the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety not only enforced action against simple sales posts but also traced the distribution routes of the initially detected 186 cases, adding 51 cases of violations by responsible sellers. The 35 identified responsible sellers will be subject to on-site inspections and administrative actions by the local food and drug safety authority.
However, some have pointed out that the tightening of regulations could impose excessive burdens on small cosmetic brands. Large companies have teams dedicated to reviewing regulations and can quickly respond to the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety's guidelines, while small enterprises or indie brands find it challenging to react in real time to changes in guidelines. An industry representative stated, 'In a situation where a single expression can lead to a sales halt, the disparity in crisis management capabilities translates into regulatory burdens on the ground.'
A representative from the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety noted, 'In the future, we will not only block simple sales posts but will focus on fundamentally cutting off false and exaggerated advertising from responsible sellers' and 'We will do our utmost to resolve the root issues of false and exaggerated cosmetic advertising.'