Korean beautytech (a portmanteau of beauty and technology) corporations are drawing attention in overseas markets. In the related industry, some also say government regulatory guidelines are not keeping up with the pace of technological development.
According to the industry on the 18th, at CES 2026, the world's largest information technology (IT) and home appliance exhibition held recently in the United States, K-beauty corporations achieved results by highlighting beautytech such as artificial intelligence (AI)-based skin diagnosis, customized cosmetics recommendations, and home-care devices.
Following last year's Samsung Electronics, Kolmar Korea won the "top innovation award in the beautytech institutional sector" this year. Established last year, the award went to the "micro light-emitting diode (LED) beauty mirror," developed in collaboration between Samsung Electronics and Amorepacific. In addition to the functions of a regular mirror, it analyzes a user's skin condition through a built-in camera and provides customized skincare solutions based on the data. This year, the "scar beauty device," which uses AI developed by Kolmar Korea to address wound treatment and makeup coverage at once, won the award.
In the case of fast-growing beautytech corporation APR Co., its flagship home beauty device "Medicube Age-R" surpassed a cumulative global sales volume of 5 million units in September last year. Medicube is on the verge of becoming the first domestic indie beautytech brand to achieve annual sales of 1 trillion won.
Despite such results, some point out that domestic regulations and standards for classification, wording, and certification related to beauty devices are unclear. Beauty devices classified as cosmetic devices have simpler certification procedures than medical devices. Medical devices must receive formal approval or certification from the Ministery of Food and Drug Safety and undergo clinical trials to prove safety and effectiveness. Only medical professionals can use them, and use by non-medical personnel is illegal. Cosmetic devices are products made for general beauty or skin care purposes, such as light-emitting diode (LED) masks for improving skin tone and home-care devices.
Under current law, if a cosmetic device product implies medical device-level effects or advertises medical efficacy, it can be interpreted as encroaching on the medical field. However, many beauty devices sit at the boundary of cosmetics, medical devices, and IT services, and when they also include AI analysis and data-based functions, on-the-ground voices say regulatory interpretation becomes even more difficult.
A beauty industry official said, "The current standards related to beautytech are ambiguous and have many stringent parts, making it difficult to respond. From a marketing perspective, it's also unclear how far we can go in introducing the effectiveness of the technology."
In addition, beautytech products must be certified to be sold on e-commerce or home shopping. Under the current classification, only four items—▲LED masks ▲scalp care devices ▲eye massagers ▲plasma cosmetic devices—are categorized as home-use cosmetic devices and are subject to safety confirmation certification for household goods. Most beauty devices other than these four items are classified as simple manufactured goods and can be sold if they pass only the KC certification applicable to manufactured goods, such as electrical and electromagnetic compatibility tests. Since these devices come into direct contact with the skin, safety issues can arise, but some also say the item criteria are too simplistic.
In particular, small and medium-sized enterprises or small startups active in the global market face relatively greater difficulties in risk management than large corporations. A representative of a small beautytech firm said, "There is uncertainty in regulatory interpretation, which is a major burden at the distribution and marketing stages," adding, "If effectiveness verification, safety information, and usage guidelines are not properly organized, growth could instead fuel market confusion."
Kim Ju-deok, a professor in the Department of Beauty Industry at Sungshin Women's University, said, "Global corporations are accelerating beautytech development by incorporating AI, but in Korea, the development pace could slow due to ambiguous regulations," adding, "The government should overhaul regulations to give domestic corporations wings."