On a sunlit pale wood surface, unlabelled glass bottles of several sizes and a row of small sample vials stand together with blank white label stock, a folded sheet of paper and linen cloth

AI-generated image.

The short answer: what you may leave off is decided by the size and the purpose of the pack

A label looks like the last step of development, but most of it is settled the moment the container is chosen. Deciding on a 10 mL ampoule, deciding to run a separate tester, deciding to add a 50 mL mini size — each of those changes what has to be printed on that pack.

That adjustment is not made by design. The Cosmetics Act and its Enforcement Rule reduce the list on two grounds: the size of the pack, and the purpose of the pack. For a pack holding 10 mL or less, or a tester that is not for sale, the outer-package entries may drop to five. In the band above 10 mL and up to 50 mL, ingredients other than six groups may be omitted. Both size-based reductions exclude cosmetics notified as requiring special care when consumers use them.

Other things do not move with the reduction. The primary container carries a list of its own, an outer package that is not reduced carries eight further entries added by the Enforcement Rule, and a separate standard governs how the text is set, down to type size and ingredient order. The price is marked by a different person altogether.

This guide reads those boundaries directly from the provisions: how many lists there are, what shrinks and what stays, what you owe in return when you do shrink, and how the sanctions are structured when the label is wrong.

The scope is the law of the Republic of Korea, and every provision quoted here was read in the original on the Korean Law Information Center on 12 October 2026. This is not legal advice on a specific matter, and it makes no claim about EVAS commercial terms, facilities or test records.

Key takeaways

1. There is not one list of label entries but two

The first thing to separate is that there are two lists, and they apply to different packs.

Article 10(1) of the Act requires the following ten items on the outer package of a cosmetic consisting of a primary container only, and on the outer package of a cosmetic that adds a secondary package to a primary container.

  1. The name of the cosmetic
  2. The trade name and address of the business operator
  3. All ingredients used in manufacturing the cosmetic (excluding ingredients prescribed by Ordinance of the Prime Minister, such as those contained in harmless small amounts)
  4. The volume or weight of the contents
  5. The lot number
  6. The expiry date or the period after opening
  7. The price
  8. For a functional cosmetic, the words "functional cosmetic" or the design indicating a functional cosmetic as determined by the Minister of Food and Drug Safety
  9. Precautions for use
  10. Other matters prescribed by Ordinance of the Prime Minister

Article 10(2) looks at a different pack. On the primary container of a cosmetic that adds a secondary package to a primary container, four items must appear: the name of the cosmetic, the trade name of the business operator, the lot number, and the expiry date or the period after opening. Printing everything on the outside of the carton does not remove those four from the bottle inside it.

Article 10(2) carries a proviso. It does not apply to a cosmetic prescribed by Ordinance of the Prime Minister, such as a solid soap, whose primary container the consumer removes before use. Article 19(6) of the Enforcement Rule identifies that cosmetic as a cleansing soap bar. The provision reflects the fact that once the wrapper comes off a bar of soap, no surface is left to carry the marking.

Where a period after opening is used, the date of manufacture must be shown alongside it. That condition is set in the parenthesis inside the proviso to the part of Article 10(1) other than its subparagraphs, and it carries the same meaning throughout that Article. How those two dates are set out in practice is covered separately in shelf life and period after opening.

2. The first reduction: 10 mL or less, and testers

The part of Article 10(1) other than its subparagraphs carries a proviso. On packaging prescribed by Ordinance of the Prime Minister, such as the packaging of a cosmetic with a small content volume, only the following five entries need appear.

Two points deserve attention here. First, subparagraph 2 of the main text reads "the trade name and address of the business operator", while the proviso names only the trade names of the responsible distributor and the customized cosmetics seller. Neither the manufacturer's trade name nor the address appears in these five. Second, the ingredient list and the precautions for use are not in this list either.

Which packs fall under that proviso? Article 19(1) of the Enforcement Rule names two.

  1. The packaging of a cosmetic whose content volume is 10 mL or less, or whose content weight is 10 g or less
  2. The packaging of a cosmetic manufactured or imported for consumers to test or use in advance for purposes such as choosing a product, rather than for the purpose of sale

Subparagraph 1 carries a parenthesis. It excludes cosmetics that the Minister of Food and Drug Safety designates by notification as requiring special care when consumers use them. Which products fall within that designation is delegated to a notification, so the applicable notification has to be checked separately. This guide did not verify that notification's designated list.

Subparagraph 2 covers testers and try-me packs. The proviso to Article 19(1) then makes one important substitution: for the packaging under subparagraph 2, "price" means a marking such as "sample" or "not for sale". Rather than demand a price on something that is not sold, the provision lets that slot be filled by such a marking instead.

One more thing is worth confirming. The proviso to the part of Article 10(1) other than its subparagraphs reduces the outer-package list. It does not reduce the primary-container list in Article 10(2). Even on a small product, if the construction adds a secondary package to a primary container, the four entries on the primary container remain, and the exception applies only to a cleansing soap bar whose primary container the consumer removes before use.

3. The second reduction: how far the ingredient list shrinks

Article 10(1), subparagraph 3 of the Act requires all ingredients, while adding a parenthesis excluding ingredients prescribed by Ordinance of the Prime Minister, such as those contained in harmless small amounts. Article 19(2) of the Enforcement Rule names three such categories.

  1. Ingredients removed during the manufacturing process that do not remain in the final product
  2. Incidental ingredients present in the raw material itself, such as stabilisers and preservatives, in an amount smaller than the amount at which their effect appears
  3. Where the packaging holds more than 10 mL and up to 50 mL, or more than 10 g and up to 50 g, every ingredient other than the six groups below

Subparagraph 3 is the mini-size band. Even there, the ingredient list does not vanish entirely. These six remain.

Subparagraph 3 carries the same parenthesis as subparagraph 1 of Article 19(1): it excludes cosmetics designated by notification as requiring special care when consumers use them.

The ingredients excluded from this omission are the six groups expressly listed in items (a) through (f) of Article 19(2), subparagraph 3. Because item (f) covers raw materials whose use limits the Minister has notified, a formula using a preservative or a UV filter with a notified limit will keep that ingredient name even in a mini size. Which raw materials carry limits is set out in choosing cosmetic ingredients.

4. If you omit ingredients, you have to leave a way to check them

Omission is not free. Article 19(5) of the Enforcement Rule requires that, where you intend to omit the ingredients used in manufacturing under Article 19(1) or Article 19(2), subparagraph 3, the omitted ingredients be made verifiable by one of the following two methods.

  1. Printing a telephone number or website address on the pack so that consumers can immediately check all ingredients under Article 10(1), subparagraph 3 of the Act
  2. Keeping printed matter such as a booklet listing all ingredients under Article 10(1), subparagraph 3 of the Act at the place of sale at all times

The two methods are different in kind. The first adds one more element to the pack design; the second is an operational duty to maintain printed matter at the point of sale. A product sold only online and a product sold in stores may not have the same realistic option.

The scope is worth confirming too. Article 19(5) points to the whole of Article 19(1) and to Article 19(2), subparagraph 3. Subparagraphs 1 and 2 of Article 19(2), the ingredients removed in processing and the incidental ingredients, are not written into that verification requirement.

5. The additional entries on an ordinary outer package

Article 19(4) of the Enforcement Rule fills in "other matters prescribed by Ordinance of the Prime Minister" under Article 10(1), subparagraph 10 of the Act with eight items. Because those eight specify subparagraph 10, they fall away together with it on packaging covered by the proviso to Article 10(1), which keeps only the five listed entries. The list below assumes an ordinary outer package that is not reduced.

  1. The barcode determined by the Minister of Food and Drug Safety
  2. For a functional cosmetic, the efficacy, effect, dosage and administration that were reviewed or reported
  3. Where an ingredient name is used as part of the product name, that ingredient name and its content (excluding fragrance products)
  4. Where a human cell or tissue culture fluid is contained, its content
  5. Where the cosmetic is to be labelled or advertised as natural or organic, the content of the raw material
  6. For an imported cosmetic, the name of the country of manufacture, the name of the manufacturing company and its location
  7. For a functional cosmetic falling under subparagraphs 8 through 11 of Article 2 of the Enforcement Rule, the phrase "not a medicine for the prevention and treatment of disease"
  8. Where the product is labelled or advertised specifically as usable by infants or children, the content of preservatives among the raw materials whose standards for use have been designated and notified under Article 8(2) of the Act

Subparagraph 6 carries a parenthesis: where the country of origin has been marked under the Foreign Trade Act, the name of the country of manufacture may be omitted. That parenthesis attaches only to the name of the country of manufacture; the name of the manufacturing company and its location are not inside it. How origin marking and country-of-manufacture marking differ is covered in what "Made in Korea" actually means.

Article 19(4) also has a proviso. For a customized cosmetic, subparagraphs 1 and 6 do not apply, which removes the barcode and the imported-cosmetic entries. The boundaries of mixing and repackaging in store are set out in customized cosmetics.

Subparagraph 5 is the content figure that attaches when you plan a natural or organic claim. What backs that claim itself is covered in natural and organic claims, and the records that follow subparagraph 8's infant and child products are covered in baby and kids cosmetics.

Precautions for use under Article 10(1), subparagraph 9 of the Act, meanwhile, are set by Annex 3 under Article 19(3) of the Enforcement Rule. The applicable wording has to be checked in that annex separately, and this guide did not verify the content of Annex 3.

6. How the text is set is prescribed as well

What you write and how you write it are separate questions. Article 10(5) of the Act delegates the labelling standards and methods under Article 10(1) and (2) to Ordinance of the Prime Minister, and Article 19(7) of the Enforcement Rule designates Annex 4 as that standard. Only the items that most often catch a development project are set out here.

Subparagraph 3, on ingredient labelling, carries a figure: the type size shall be at least 5 point. That figure attaches to ingredient labelling and does not set a type size for the label as a whole. Ingredients are listed in descending order of content, except that ingredients used at 1 per cent or less, fragrances and colourants may be listed in any order. For a blended raw material, the names of the individual blended ingredients are given.

Fragrance carries a condition. A fragrance may be shown as "fragrance", but where its constituents include an allergenic substance notified by the Minister of Food and Drug Safety, it may not be shown as fragrance and the name of that substance must be given.

There is also a route for a legitimate business interest. Subparagraph 3, item (g) of Annex 4 addresses ingredient labelling that would be likely to seriously infringe a business operator's legitimate interest. The operator must submit supporting material to the Minister of Food and Drug Safety. Where the Minister recognises that likelihood, the ingredient may be shown as "other ingredient". It is not something a company may withhold on its own assessment.

Subparagraph 2, on trade names and addresses, often matters in contract manufacturing. The address given is the location stated on the registration or notification certificate, or the location representing returns and exchanges. The manufacturer, the responsible distributor and the customized cosmetics seller are each stated separately, except that where one company carries on more than one of those businesses they may be stated together. And where a cosmetic is produced at two or more manufacturing sites by process, the trade name and address of a manufacturer that was entrusted with part of the process may be omitted.

Subparagraph 4, on content, adds a soap provision. The volume or weight is given excluding the weight of the primary container or secondary package, except that for a cleansing soap bar both the weight including moisture and the dry weight must be given.

Annex 4 also relaxes the rules for sets. Where two or more cosmetics are packaged and sold as one set, the outer package may carry each constituent cosmetic's lot number or a single consolidated lot number. It may also show only the earliest expiry date among them, with wording directing the reader to where the remaining expiry dates are shown.

7. Korean is the rule, and exports are the exception

Article 12 of the Act fixes both the position and the language of the marking. The entries under Articles 10 and 11 must be placed where they can be seen more easily than other letters or sentences. As prescribed by Ordinance of the Prime Minister, they must be stated accurately in Korean that is easy to read and understand. Chinese characters or a foreign language may be shown alongside.

Article 21 of the Enforcement Rule sets out two compliance matters. First, the marking must be in Korean and easy to read, except that Chinese characters or a foreign language may be shown alongside, and for export products and the like the language of the destination country may be used. Second, where ingredients are shown, standardised generic names must be used.

The exception in Article 21, subparagraph 1 concerns language. Separately, the current Article 30 of the Act provides that a product not sold domestically and intended solely for export is not subject to Article 4, Articles 8 through 12, Article 14, Article 15, subparagraphs 1 and 5, Article 16(1), subparagraphs 2 and 3, or Article 16(2), and may follow the regulations of the importing country instead. Articles 10 through 12, the subject of this guide, sit inside that range. The premise is that the product is not sold domestically, and the effect is permissive. That boundary is covered in export-only cosmetics.

8. The direct-to-consumer seller marks the selling price

The price under Article 10(1), subparagraph 7 has a different actor from the other nine entries. Article 11(1) of the Act requires the person who sells the cosmetic directly to consumers, that is the seller, to mark the price at which they intend to sell it.

Article 20 of the Enforcement Rule requires the seller to mark the intended selling price on the product's packaging so that ordinary consumers can readily understand it. The detailed marking method is delegated to a notification of the Minister of Food and Drug Safety. Because the detail sits in a notification, the actual format has to be checked against that notification. This guide did not verify its detailed content.

For a brand, the thing to settle is who marks the price and when, agreed in advance with the seller, while the actual format is fixed against the notification delegated under Article 20. As the later section on sanctions shows, the penalty and administrative-fine provisions follow the same split of actors.

9. Braille and audio or sign-language codes are optional

Article 10(3) of the Act applies when all or part of the entries under Article 10(1) are marked on the container or packaging. For persons with visual or hearing disabilities, markings such as braille or codes for conversion into audio or sign-language video may be placed alongside those entries. The sentence ends in "may be marked alongside", so this is permission and not a duty.

The current Article 10(3) carries an amendment dated 1 April 2025. Article 10(4), newly inserted on the same date, allows the Minister of Food and Drug Safety to give administrative and financial support to cosmetics manufacturers and others where it is needed for that marking. The permission and the support provision sit side by side.

At the planning stage the provision reads two ways. Leaving it out now is not a violation; and if you decide to include it, the layout has to accommodate it from the start so that it does not cover the required entries. On a small container, that decision gets more expensive the longer it is deferred.

10. What follows when the label is wrong

Sanctions attach on three tracks, and the price separates out from them.

First, criminal fines. Article 38, subparagraph 2 of the Act sets a fine of up to KRW 2 million for a person who breaches Article 10(1) and (2), while adding a parenthesis that excludes Article 10(1), subparagraph 7. In other words the price entry is expressly carved out of that penalty. Under the joint penalty provision in Article 39, a fine may also be imposed on the corporation, except where the corporation has not been negligent in exercising due care and supervision to prevent the violation.

Second, administrative fines. Article 40(1), subparagraph 5-2 of the Act sets an administrative fine of up to KRW 1 million on a person who fails to mark the selling price of a cosmetic in breach of Article 10(1), subparagraph 7 and Article 11.

Third, administrative dispositions. Article 24(1), subparagraph 9 of the Act lists, as grounds for disposition, marking the container or packaging and the accompanying document of a cosmetic in breach of Articles 10 through 12, and Article 24(2) delegates the standards to Ordinance of the Prime Minister. Annex 7 to the Enforcement Rule splits that ground into three. All are suspensions of sales business for the item concerned, and the figures below run in order of first, second, third and fourth or later violation.

Breaching the labelling standards and methods in Annex 4, and breaching the compliance matters for marking under Article 12 of the Act and Article 21 of the Enforcement Rule, each run at 15 days, 1 month, 3 months and 6 months. In other words a question of method, such as type size or ingredient order, is treated at the same level as a partial omission of required entries.

The general standards in Annex 7 have to be read alongside. Where there are two or more violations with different standards, the heavier standard applies; but where two or more of them are suspensions of business, half of each remaining suspension period is added to the heaviest one, up to a maximum of 12 months. The repeat-count standards apply where an administrative disposition was imposed for the same violation within the past year, or within the past two years for one violation specifically designated in the same table. Given that label errors rarely stop at one place, that aggregation rule is what decides the real exposure.

11. What to settle during development

12. Frequently asked questions

If the product holds 10 mL or less, can the ingredient list be left out entirely?

Unless the product is one notified as requiring special care when consumers use it, the ingredient list may be left off the pack, because it is not among the five entries the proviso to the part of Article 10(1) other than its subparagraphs allows. Article 19(5) of the Enforcement Rule still requires a verification route, so a telephone number or website address goes on the pack, or printed matter listing the full ingredients is kept at the place of sale at all times. Not having to print something is not the same as not having to disclose it.

Does a promotional miniature have to carry a "sample" marking?

What Article 19(1), subparagraph 2 of the Enforcement Rule points to is packaging of a cosmetic manufactured or imported for consumers to test or use in advance for purposes such as choosing a product, rather than for the purpose of sale. The proviso to that paragraph substitutes a marking such as "sample" or "not for sale" for the price on that packaging only. Whether a particular giveaway meets that definition depends on the purpose for which it was manufactured or imported and on how it is actually supplied, so an individual determination is best confirmed with the competent regional office of the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety.

What if the container is so small that the type falls below 5 point?

The 5-point minimum in subparagraph 3, item (a) of Annex 4 attaches to ingredient labelling, and on a small container that ingredient labelling is itself reduced. At 10 mL or less the ingredient list may leave the pack entries, and above 10 mL and up to 50 mL everything but the six groups may be omitted; both reductions exclude cosmetics notified as requiring special care. The right move is to settle which reduction band the pack falls into, rather than to shrink the type.

Can an export product be made in English only, with no Korean?

The proviso to Article 21, subparagraph 1 of the Enforcement Rule allows the language of the destination country to be used for export products and the like. Separately, the current Article 30 of the Act allows Articles 8 through 12 to be disapplied to a product not sold domestically and intended solely for export, on the premise that the product is not sold domestically. For a product sold both at home and abroad, that premise does not hold.

Does a single typo on a label mean an immediate sales suspension?

Annex 7 separates the grounds. Taking the entries required by Article 10(1) and (2) excluding the price, a first violation for omitting some of them is a 15-day suspension of sales business for the item; a first violation for stating them falsely is 1 month; and a first violation for omitting all of them is 3 months. The general standards in the same table also set out grounds for mitigation and exemption, so the level of disposition in a specific case rests with the competent authority.

13. Next steps

A label is not a design file; it is a record of decisions. The moment you settle the fill volume, whether to run a separate tester, whether to sell as a set, and whether an ingredient name goes into the product name, the entries that must be printed are settled with them. Put the other way round: writing those decisions down at the sample stage avoids rebuilding the layout just before print.

If you have a project under way, send us the product type, the fill sizes, whether testers or sets are planned, and any functional claim you intend, through the development enquiry page. We will confirm which entries follow and review the container and the label together. How a development project runs is set out in our process, and the formulation material is in the formula library.

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