Voluntary recall of some imported character pencils found to contain harmful substances

Pencils are an essential school supply, which children hold in their hands for hours daily and might put in their mouth without being aware of they are doing so. Strict control over harmful substances that might be present in pencils is a necessity.

The Korea Consumer Agency (President: Lee Hee Sook) tested 25** character pencils* sold online for their safety and labelling requirement compliance, and harmful substances were found from some of the imported products.

* Character pencils: Pencils on which surface images of cinematic or animation characters or animals are printed or otherwise illustrated.

** By country of origin: 13 from China, 6 from Korea (including ones processed locally), 3 from Japan, and 3 from Taiwan