Post #5 - how to mark KCs?

 

1. Which documents, laws do I need to begin with?

You can find the requirements in Framework Act on National Standards, Enforcement Ordinance, Article 15-7, particularly the first requirement says "National Certification Mark shall follow the criteria and the method specified in Appendix 6. So what requirements are there in Appendix 6? Let us take a look today. 

2. Requirements on shape & size

The shape of KCs mark shall be in accordance with the Appendix 6 as explained above. First of all, the KC mark is required to have height and length as per the ratio in the grid scale on the left figure above. Then the subjoinder 's' is required to have size proportional to KC mark as specified on the right figure above. 

Within the specified shape, the size could be adjusted, but the height cannot be less than 5 mm with an exception for small equipment. KCs mark shall be visible all the time, and it can be printed, laser-marked, itched, engraved etc. 

3. Requirements on color

What about color? Usually the color shall be Navy (5PB 2/8). The appendix 6 says, when special effects required, you could also use Gold (10YR 6/4), Silver (N 7) or Black (N 2). 

4. What else?

When it is impossible to have KCs mark on your products (e.g too small to mark anything), you could have KCs mark on the package of the products, instead. This also applies if the nature of your product prevents users/buyers from further distributing the products. 

Now I bet  you have a better understanding on how to mark KCs. Still got questions? please leave comments on the bottom of the post or send an email (koreamarketaccess@gmail.com)

Post #4 - Do local Korea CBs accept ATEX?

 

1. What if you are an ATEX certificate holder, but not an IECEx certificate holder?

From the previous posts, we now know that you could submit an IECEx certificate to obtain a KCs certificate. This is, in fact, nearly the only way of obtaining a KCs certificate if you are not based in S. Korea. Many European manufacturers often have their products ATEX certified only. So what about ATEX? We all know ATEX is nearly the same as IECEx, especially now that most of the IEC and the EN standards are harmonised. In this post, we are going to talk about submitting an ATEX certificate to obtain a KCs certificate. 

2. ATEX certificates could be accepted, but not all ATEXs are acceptable. 

In general, it is IECEx certificates only which are accepted for KCs certification. However, all local certification bodies in S. Korea have signed MoUs with other ATEX notified bodies. For this reason, if your ATEX certificate is issued by one of the ATEX notified bodies who signed a MoU with the Korea local certification body that you are contacting, then your ATEX would be accepted.  

Different KCs bodies sign a MoU with different ATEX notified bodies, so you would have to check which ATEX notified body issued your ATEX certificate, and see which KCs body has a MoU signed with your ATEX notified body. 

KCs Body	Website
KTL	https://customer.ktl.re.kr/web/contents/K101010700.do
KOSHA	https://miis.kosha.or.kr/oshci/busi/viewExplosionAuthApply.do?tabType=tab02
KGS	http://www.kgs.or.kr/kgsmain/business/quality/quality_test01_03.jsp

For example, if you obtained an ATEX certificate from TUV Nord, then KOSHA is the one who signed a MoU with TUV Nord, so you should go to KOSHA for KCs in this case. 

3. Any difference between submitting IECEx and submitting ATEX?

It is still ideal to have an IECEx certificate for the equipment you are obtaining a KCs certificate for. Both IECEx certificate and ATEX certificate would waive testing, but the main difference is qualitiy assessment. With an IECEx, you could submit your IECEx QAR to get the initial quality assessment waived. This not only saves the cost, but also reduces turnaround time significantly. With an ATEX, this is not possible as ATEX QANs are not acceptable. The initial quality assessment would usually take 45 days to complete, so this could be a big deal in an urgent situation. 

Another difference you should be aware of is that IECEx test reports have checklists for IEC standards while ATEX test reports may or may not have this. For ATEX certifications, some ATEX notified bodies do not have full checklists in the reports, so when you submit your ATEX report and the report does not have any checklists, then your ATEX certificate could be potentially turned down. 

Any questions are welcome. If you have any, please send me an email (koreamarketaccess@gmail.com) or leave your question in the comment section of this post. 

Post #3 - What are the documents I am preparing?

 

1. Need a hand with the application documents?

On this post, we are going to see what some of the application documents look like. Once you have a look, you would realise this is not too difficult. 

Among the required documents (listed on post #2), we are not going to discuss IECEx document package (signed certificates, test reports, scheduled drawings etc.) as this should be straightfoward. 

2. Application Form

The application form is from the occupation safety and health acts - enforcement regulation, but this form can be downloaded from any of three local certification bodies' websites. 

Other than the fact that this is written in Korean, filling in this form should not be too difficult. You just need to put down basic information such as applicant, address, contact name, email, mobile, equipment, type, Ex marking etc. 

3. Application for Exemption

This form is for applicants who are IECEx certificate holders. On this form, you need to put down applicant, address, equipment type, Ex marking, IECEx certificate number, applicant standards etc. 

Basically, you are asking for exemption of all applicable tests based on the IECEx certificate you are submitting. Korean Ex standards are all based on IEC 60079 series, so all tests are compatible. Practically speaking, submitting an IECEx certificate would be nearly the only way to obtain a KCs certificate. 

4. Business License

99% of applications made are one of two cases. First case, the application is made by the Korea branch office of manufacturers if the manufacturers are multi-national organisations. Another case is when the applicant is made by Korean agents on behalf of the manufacturers who hire them. The business license in this case is either the business license of the Korea branch offices or that of the agents. 

5. List of models and description

This form is required only when there are multiple models/or variants within a model series. 

For example, let's say there is a cable gland, ABC series, and within the ABC gland, there are sub-models such as ABC-1, ABC-2, ABC-3 etc. 

In this case, you need to complete the table, listing all models within the series, model code structure and what the code means. 

6. Import Declaration Certificate (Unit Certificate only)

This applies to 'Unit Certificate' only. When you import goods, you fill out the customs declaration form. Import declaration certificate is what you receive after you submit the customers declaration. The import declaration certificate shall show the equipment type you are importing, the number of unit, serial numbers of the unit. 

7. Instruction ENG & KR

Instructions are instructions, so nothing too complicated. However, when you apply for KCs, an instruction written in Korean is a 'MUST'. English instruction alone is not accepted. Therefore, make sure you prepare this in advance to avoid any delays. 

Today we had a look at the application documents. This should give you a clearer idea on how to prepare all the documents. Anyway, if you have any questions, please send me an email (koreamarketaccess@gmail.com), or leave your questions on the bottom of this post. 

Post #2 - Preparing application documents for KCs certification

1. Let's prepare documents for the application

Okay now I know I need a KCs certificate to get my product to S.Korea market. Now what? What documents do I need to prepare? In this post, we are going to talk about all the documents you would have to submit for the application. 

Most manufacturers seeking a KCs certification would be highly likely IECEx certificate holders for their products. For this reason, this blog post is geared towards getting a KCs certificate by submitting a IECEx certification package. 

2. Type Certificate vs Unit Certificate

KCs certification is quite similar with IECEx or ATEX in a way that it has 'type certificate' and 'unit certificate'. 'Type certificate' is a type of certificate which allows manufacturers to have KCs marks on their products if they maintain the certification (meaning quality assessment required). This is basically same as IECEx or ATEX type certificates. 'Unit certificate' is a type of certificate which allows one-time imports, therefore, this is same as 'unit vertification' in IECEx/ATEX terms which does not require any quality assessments. Most manufacturers would be interested in 'type certificate' while importers would be most likely interested in 'unit certificate' if they import, for example, only 10 units or 15 units as a one-time project.

The documents required for the application are as below (note - all documents are written in Korea). 

Type Certificate

Unit Certificate

KCs Application Form Application for Exemption (for IECEx certificate holders) Business License Letter of Attorney List of models and description Photos showing all sides and marking label IECEx QAR IECEx Signed Certificate IECEx Test Report (all editions) Scheduled Drawings associated with the IECEx Test Reports (all editions) Marking Label with KCs mark incorporated Instruction English and Korean

KCs Application Form Application for Exemption (for IECEx certificate holders) Business License Import Declaration Certificate Photos showing all sides and marking label IECEx Signed Certificate IECEx Test Report (all editions) Scheduled Drawings associated with the IECEx Test Reports (all editions) KCs Mark Label Instruction English and Korean

3. Challenge with application templates

The biggest challenge for manufacturers is the language barrier. There are no English templates when applying for KCs certification and the applications shall be made in Korean. Therefore, most foreign manufacturers use Korean agents to obtain KCs certificates or if manufacturers have their branch offices in Korea, then they ask their Korean colleagues to help them with the applications. 

To help you understand what each document is, in the next post, we are going to see what each document looks like and what information each of them requires. 

Any questions are welcome. If you have any, please send me an email (Koreamarketaccess@gmail.com), or leave your questions on the bottom of this post. 

Post #1 - KCs Certification for Ex equipment (Hazloc) - Introduction

KCs certification for Ex equipment (Hazloc) - Introduction

1. What is KCs certification? Where do I start? 

KC certification is a complusory certification required for manufacturers to sell products in S. Korea. The purpose of the certification is to protect people and properties from any fire hazard, electrical shock which could be caused using electrical equipment. 

However, KC is not the suitable certification for Ex equipment manufacturers, seeking an access to S.Korea market. 

2. Korea Certification for Ex equipment (KCs) 

Korea Certification KCs for explosion proof equipment is a certification scheme which lets local certification bodies (e.g. KOSHA, KGS, KTL) to assess Hazloc equipment for its explosion-proof ability & manufacturers for their quality and allow KCs marks to be marked on the products. (as per occupation safety and health acts, Article 84)

Basically, it is same as KC certification, but it's called KCs certification for Ex equipment. It is quite similar as CE and ATEX in Europe. CE and ATEX are pretty much the same, but different Directive applies, depending on the product category, and some categories require a compulsory third-party certification. Therefore, think of KCs as ATEX, this would help you understand easier. 

Although there are some similarities between KCs and ATEX, these are not the same. So hopefully we are going to cover the details in the next coming posts. 

3. Certification Process

Process	Remarks
Application	Application to be made to one of three local certification bodies (e.g. KOSHA, KGS, KTL)
Construction Review	An evaluation takes place to check the compliance. Samples and drawings to be assessed against Korean Ex standards
Testing	Tests in accordance with Korean Ex standards
Quality Assessment	Initial quality assessment to issue a KCs certificate
Certificate issue	Certificate is granted once all the processes above are done
Factory Inspection	Annual quality inspection required to maintain the certification.

This is the overall process and we are going to cover more details in separate posts. For any questions, please send your inquiry to koreamarketaccess@gmail.com, or leave your questions on the bottom of this post.