Korea HS Code Import Requirements (세관장확인대상물품)

Find out which Korean laws require a permit, certificate or confirmation at customs before goods with a given HS code can be imported into or exported from South Korea. Data comes from the Korea Customs Service list of items subject to customs confirmation (세관장확인대상물품, Customs Act Article 226). For each 10-digit Korean HSK code you get, in English with the Korean originals:

• whether the code requires customs confirmation at all (requiresCustomsConfirmation)
• each law behind the requirement (e.g. Radio Waves Act, Cosmetics Act, Special Act on Imported Food Safety Control)
• the document to present to customs (e.g. Broadcasting and communication equipment certification confirmation)
• the agencies that issue or confirm it (e.g. National Radio Research Agency, MFDS, KTL, KTR)
• the date the requirement applies from, and the official HSK description (chapter > heading > subheading)

Give a full 10-digit HSK code, or a 4, 6 or 8-digit HS prefix — the Actor expands it to every 10-digit Korean code under it (from the 2026 tariff, 11,327 codes). No API key or Korean account needed.

Typical uses

• Cross-border e-commerce and Amazon/Coupang sellers — before shipping a SKU to Korea, see if it needs a KC, radio, food, cosmetics or drug confirmation document.
• Freight forwarders, customs brokers and landed-cost / trade-compliance SaaS — enrich HS codes with Korean regulatory requirements in English.
• Export control screening — export direction shows which goods need an export permit (e.g. waste, cultural heritage, narcotics, biological resources, wildlife).
• AI agents — "Do I need any certificate to import smartphones (HS 8517.13) into Korea?"

Input

Field	Description
hsCodes	One per line: a 10-digit HSK code (3304991000, 3304.99-1000) or a 4/6/8-digit prefix (8517.13, 3004). Product names are not accepted. Up to 100 lines.
direction	import (default), export or both (one result per code and direction).
maxCodesPerEntry	Default 30, up to 300. A prefix is expanded to at most this many 10-digit codes (in code order).
onlyWithRequirements	true = skip codes that need no confirmation; skipped codes are not charged.

{ "hsCodes": ["8517.13", "3304991000"], "direction": "import" }

Output

One item per 10-digit HSK code and direction:

{
  "input": "8517.13",
  "hsCode": "8517130000",
  "hsCodeFormatted": "8517.13-0000",
  "direction": "import",
  "status": "requirements_found",
  "requiresCustomsConfirmation": true,
  "description": "Telephone sets > Telephone sets, including smartphones and other telephones for cellular networks or for other wireless networks > Smartphones",
  "descriptionKo": "전화기 > 전화기(셀룰러 통신망용이나 그 밖의 무선통신망용의 스마트폰과 그 밖의 전화기를 포함한다) > 스마트폰",
  "descriptionPath": [ { "code": "85", "description": "Chapter 85 Electrical machinery and equipment ...", "descriptionKo": "제85류 ..." }, "..." ],
  "requirements": [
    {
      "lawCode": "23",
      "law": "Electrical Appliances and Consumer Products Safety Control Act",
      "lawKo": "전기용품 및 생활용품 안전관리법",
      "requiredDocument": "Electrical appliance and consumer product requirement confirmation",
      "requiredDocumentKo": "전기용품 및 생활용품 요건확인서",
      "effectiveFrom": "2022-01-01",
      "approvalAgencies": [
        { "code": "105", "name": "Korean Agency for Technology and Standards (KATS)", "nameKo": "기술표준원" },
        { "code": "314", "name": "Korea Testing Laboratory (KTL)", "nameKo": "한국산업기술시험원" }
      ]
    },
    {
      "lawCode": "39",
      "law": "Radio Waves Act",
      "lawKo": "전파법",
      "requiredDocument": "Broadcasting and communication equipment certification confirmation",
      "requiredDocumentKo": "방송통신기기인증확인서",
      "effectiveFrom": "2022-01-01",
      "approvalAgencies": [ { "code": "108", "name": "National Radio Research Agency (RRA)", "nameKo": "국립전파연구원" } ]
    }
  ],
  "error": null,
  "coverageNote": "Lists the customs-confirmation requirements (Customs Act Art. 226) only. ...",
  "source": "Korea Customs Service (관세청) items subject to customs confirmation (세관장확인대상물품), via data.go.kr; ...",
  "checkedAt": "2026-10-11T13:43:50+00:00"
}

status	Meaning
requirements_found	At least one law requires a confirmation document for this code and direction.
no_requirements	Valid code, no customs-confirmation requirement listed.
unknown_code	Not a current Korean HSK code (or no code under the prefix) — free.
invalid_input	Empty line, product name, or wrong number of digits — free.
lookup_failed	The official source did not answer; retry later — free.

Limitations — what is not included

• Only the customs-confirmation list. no_requirements does not mean the goods are free to import: tariffs and VAT, quotas, origin rules, product registrations done before shipping and other conditions are not covered. Personal-use and sample exemptions that customs may apply are not shown either.
• Requirements apply to the whole code. Korean customs lists a law for an HS code even when only some products under it are regulated (e.g. only items that are drugs, or only wild species). Read it as "check whether your product falls under this law".
• You need the HS code. The Actor does not classify products from a name or photo. Korean 10-digit HSK codes are national: the first 6 digits match the international HS, the last 4 are Korean.
• English names of laws, documents and agencies are our translations (official English law titles where they exist); the Korean originals are always included. A law, document or agency not yet in our dictionary is returned with the Korean name only (law, requiredDocument or name = null).
• At most 500 code lookups per run (the source has a shared daily quota); split larger lists over several runs.

Pricing

Pay per result: $0.002 per HS code check (hs-code-check) — one per 10-digit code and direction returned, with or without requirements. Unknown codes, invalid inputs, failed lookups and codes skipped by onlyWithRequirements are free.

Use as an MCP tool (Claude, Cursor, other AI agents)

Add the Apify MCP server with this Actor:

https://mcp.apify.com?tools=kr-data/korea-hs-import-requirements

Source and license

관세청_세관장확인대상물품(GW) (data.go.kr 15101589), 이용허락범위 제한 없음. HSK descriptions: 관세청_HS부호 단위별 품목명 (data.go.kr 15130660) and 관세청_HS부호 (15049722), 공공누리 제1유형 (출처표시) — source: Korea Customs Service.

More Korean data from KR Data

• Korea Business Check (KYB) — business registration status, company profile, financials
• Korean Address to English — official English address and postal code
• Korean Law in English — official English text of Korean statutes
• Korea Online Seller Registration Check — mail-order business registration (통신판매업) by business number
• Korea Drug & Medical Device Recalls — recent MFDS recalls and sales suspensions
• Korea Company Headcount — monthly National Pension headcount, hires and leavers
• Korea Financial Company Lookup — Korean banks, brokers and insurers with IDs and audit opinion
• Korea Flood-Damaged Car Check — flood-damage insurance records by license plate