As harmful substances exceeding safety standards were detected in some children's water-play products such as aqua shoes and life jackets, and safety controversies have continued recently over tactile toys like malleables and Wack Ppu Ball (wax smashing ball), interest is growing in the scope of manufacturers' and sellers' legal liability.
Court rulings show that even when harmful substances were detected in the same type of children's products, conclusions differed. In a baby bathtub case where a substance exceeded the safety standard by 600 times, the court ordered compensation of 100,000 won per consumer, while in an infant mat case where certification was canceled due to detection of harmful substances, consumers lost.
What divided the rulings was not simply whether "harmful substances were detected." The court examined whether the substance actually harmed the human body, whether specific damage occurred, and whether the manufacturer properly followed safety verification and labeling procedures.
◇ Baby bathtub at 612 times the limit… 100,000 won awarded even without bodily harm
According to legal sources on the 12th, the Seoul High Court in Feb. 2024 ordered the manufacturer to pay 100,000 won in damages per person in a lawsuit filed by 160 consumers who purchased a "baby bathtub" containing harmful substances.
A 2020 safety investigation of the bathtub by the Korean Agency for Technology and Standards found that the drain stopper contained DINP, a phthalate plasticizer, at a level 612 times above the safety standard.
What the court focused on was not merely the detection of harmful substances. After obtaining a compliance finding for a drain stopper made of eco-friendly PVC, the manufacturer switched the material to general PVC without undergoing new testing and inspection.
The Seoul High Court viewed this as a wrongful act by the manufacturer and recognized liability for damages. It found that consumers suffered mental harm because they trusted the product's safety and used it for their young children, when in fact the manufacturer had not gone through the lawful safety verification process.
However, the court did not recognize liability under the Product Liability Act. It said it was difficult to conclude that DINP, which does not dissolve well in water, would be released during bathing and actually have harmful effects on the body.
Ha Hee-bong, managing attorney at Loped Law Office, who represented the consumers, said, "Exceeding safety standards and actually harming people are not the same issue," and added, "Even if no health abnormalities are confirmed, the mental distress experienced upon belatedly learning that a potentially unsafe product was used for a child can be assessed separately."
◇ Certification mark without KC certification… criminal liability also recognized
Criminal guilt was also recognized in the baby bathtub case. In June 2024, the Seoul Central District Court sentenced the head of Company A to one year and six months in prison, suspended for three years, and the head of Company B to 10 months in prison, suspended for two years. Each corporation was fined 7 million won and 5 million won.
The court found that after changing the drain stopper material from eco-friendly PVC to general PVC, the defendants did not obtain KC certification for the general PVC but nevertheless displayed the certification mark.
Attorney Lee Seung-ik of DR & AJU LLC said, "Parents trusted the KC mark as a sign of safety and bathed their children, but harmful substances exceeding the limits by hundreds of times were actually detected, and the resulting anxiety and guilt were recognized as mental damage—that is the key," adding, "Even if bodily harm is not proven, it is important to pinpoint the correct legal grounds suited to the case, such as the Labeling and Advertising Act and the Product Liability Act."
There is also a case where a head of a company was sentenced to prison for deceiving buyers into thinking a children's product complied with safety standards. In Sept. 2019, the Suwon District Court sentenced a children's toy distributor to one year and six months in prison. The court found the distributor deceived buyers into believing the products met safety standards and collected more than 170 million won in payments, and assessed the offense as serious.
◇ Infant mat with canceled certification loses… "insufficient proof of harmfulness"
Conversely, there was a case where harmful substances were detected and certification was canceled, yet the consumers' claims were not accepted.
In May 2020, the Busan District Court rejected all claims by purchasers of infant mats in a suit for a refund against the seller.
Dimethylacetamide (DMAc) was detected in the mats, and their use certification was canceled. However, the court held that this alone did not establish that DMAc is harmful to the human body, and that proof was lacking that the product was actually harmful to people.
This is also why the baby bathtub and infant mat cases reached different conclusions. Detection of harmful substances or violation of safety standards does not automatically give rise to liability for damages. To seek compensation for bodily harm, consumers must prove the product's harmfulness, actual injury, and causation between the two.
However, even if no actual health abnormalities are confirmed, if a manufacturer violates safety verification procedures or makes safety labels that are inconsistent with the facts, compensation for mental harm or criminal liability may be recognized, as in the baby bathtub case.
An attorney at a large law firm said, "To receive civil damages, consumers must prove that they were harmed by the product and that the harm resulted from a violation of safety standards," adding, "If there is no specific injury such as a health abnormality, it is not easy to obtain damages."