Korea Consumer Agency (KCA) and the Fair Trade Commission issued a consumer safety alert on the 7th, saying safety accidents related to winter heating products occur frequently.
According to Korea Consumer Agency (KCA), a total of 4,154 safety accidents related to heating products were reported to the Consumer Injury Surveillance System (CISS) over the five years from 2020 to last year.
In 2023, 1,064 cases occurred, and last year, 968 cases occurred.
The leading causes of safety accidents were "fire/overheating" with 2,043 cases (49.2%), followed by "product defects" with 1,501 cases (36.1%).
By product type, electric pads and electric blankets accounted for the most with 2,666 cases (64.2%), followed by hot-water mats with 684 cases (16.5%) and electric heaters with 276 cases (6.6%).
Many electric pad accidents involved fires caused by overheating when a latex mattress or a thick comforter was placed on top of the pad during use.
Among the 579 safety accidents in which physical harm was confirmed, "burns" were the most common at 494 cases (85.3%).
KCA and the Korea Fair Trade Commission (FTC) urged consumers to purchase KC-certified products and not to place latex mattresses or bedding that does not allow heat to escape easily on top of electric pads when using heating products safely.
They also added that to prevent low-temperature burns, avoid prolonged use, unplug the device when not in use, and store it so that the heating wire or power cord does not bend.