Korea Revises Tablet PC & Battery Safety Standards

Korea Revises Tablet PC and Battery Cell Safety Standards: 20 cm Screen Rule and New Crush Test

South Korea is moving to update two product safety standards that affect tablet PCs and lithium battery cells. The Korean Agency for Technology and Standards (KATS), operating under the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE), has proposed revisions under the Electrical Appliances and Consumer Products Safety Control Act. The proposal is open for public comment until July 10, 2026.

For manufacturers, importers, and certification teams serving the Korean market, the two changes are small in wording but meaningful in scope: one redraws the line between a "smartphone" and a "tablet PC," and the other changes how certified lithium cells are physically tested.

Korea's Tablet PC and Battery Safety Standards: What's Changing

The pre-announcement covers two distinct items under Korea's KC product-safety regime.

1. Tablet PC classification — Safety Confirmation scope

KATS proposes raising the diagonal screen-size criterion that determines whether a device is regulated as a tablet PC subject to Safety Confirmation (안전확인):

• Current criterion: 17 cm (diagonal) or more

• Proposed criterion: 20 cm (diagonal) or more

  
  

The change closes a long-standing classification gap. Large-screen smartphones — most visibly the Galaxy Ultra series, with displays at or above 17 cm — were being swept into the "tablet PC" category under the existing threshold, even though they are phones. Moving the line to 20 cm lets genuine tablets remain in scope while removing oversized phones that were never the intended target.

2. Battery cell self-inspection — Safety Certification test item

For lithium battery cells subject to Safety Certification (안전인증), KATS proposes replacing one self-inspection test item:

• Current test: Overcurrent Charging Test

• Proposed test: Crush Test

  
  

The revision harmonizes the self-inspection item with the current safety standard, KC 62133-2 (Korea's adoption of IEC 62133-2 for portable sealed secondary lithium cells and batteries).

The certified cells affected are tightly defined. The requirement applies only to lithium-based battery cells that meet all of the following:

• Energy density of 700 Wh/L or higher, and

• Maximum charging voltage of 4.4 V or higher, and

• Intended for use in smartphones, notebook computers, or tablet PCs.

  
  

Cells outside those parameters are not captured by this particular certification requirement.

Regulatory Background

KATS administers Korea's KC mark conformity system for electrical and household products under the Electrical Appliances and Consumer Products Safety Control Act. Products fall into tiers of oversight, Safety Certification, Safety Confirmation, and Supplier's Declaration of Conformity, based on risk. Tablet PCs sit in the Safety Confirmation tier, while the qualifying high-energy lithium cells sit in the more rigorous Safety Certification tier.

This proposal is an administrative pre-announcement (행정예고): a formal step that publishes the draft amendment and invites stakeholder comment before KATS finalizes and sets enforcement dates. It is not yet in force. The screen-size and test-item changes will take legal effect only after the comment period closes, KATS reviews submissions, and a final notice with an effective date is issued.

What This Means for Manufacturers

Large-screen phone makers get relief on classification. If you produce smartphones with displays between 17 cm and 20 cm, those models were exposed to tablet-PC Safety Confirmation obligations under the old threshold. Once the 20 cm criterion takes effect, they should fall outside the tablet-PC category — simplifying your registration profile and reducing duplicate certification overhead. Until the rule is final, the 17 cm threshold still governs.

Cell makers and device OEMs must re-check their test evidence. If you certify qualifying lithium cells (≥700 Wh/L, ≥4.4 V) for phones, notebooks, or tablets, your self-inspection regime will need a crush test in place of the overcurrent charging test. Where your existing certification data or supplier test reports were built around overcurrent charging, that evidence may no longer satisfy the self-inspection item once the change is enforced. Because the revision aligns to KC 62133-2 — a standard most compliant cells are already tested against — many manufacturers will have crush-test data on hand, but it should be confirmed rather than assumed.

Importers should map their portfolios now. The practical risk is a model sitting near a boundary — a 6.8–7.9 inch device, or a cell just over the energy-density and voltage thresholds. Identifying these before the rule is final lets you plan certification actions and submit comments if a specific product is adversely affected.

Certification Impact Summary

Item	Current Requirement	Proposed Change	Affected Products	KC Tier
Tablet PC classification	Tablet PC = diagonal screen 17 cm or more	Threshold raised to 20 cm or more	Large-screen smartphones (e.g., Galaxy Ultra–class) and small tablets near the boundary	Safety Confirmation (안전확인)
Battery cell self-inspection test	Overcurrent Charging Test	Replaced by Crush Test (harmonized with KC 62133-2)	Lithium cells ≥700 Wh/L and ≥4.4 V max charging voltage, for smartphones / notebooks / tablet PCs	Safety Certification (안전인증)
Legal status	—	Administrative pre-announcement; not yet in force	—	—
Comment deadline	—	July 10, 2026	—	—

Timeline and Required Actions

1. Now → July 10, 2026 — Public comment period (open). Stakeholders may submit written feedback on the draft to KATS. Required action: If any product is adversely affected by the new threshold or test item, prepare and file a comment before the deadline.

2. Now — Audit your product portfolio. Required action: Identify every tablet and large-screen phone model in the 17–20 cm diagonal range, and every qualifying lithium cell (≥700 Wh/L, ≥4.4 V) used in smartphones, notebooks, or tablets.

3. Now — Assess test readiness for affected cells. Required action: Confirm whether your existing certification or supplier data includes crush-test results under KC 62133-2. If not, schedule crush testing so evidence is ready before enforcement.

4. Now — Review classification impact for tablets/phones. Required action: Determine which current tablet-PC Safety Confirmation registrations will change status once the threshold moves to 20 cm, and whether any model exits scope.

5. After July 10, 2026 — KATS review and finalization. KATS reviews submissions, finalizes the amendment, and publishes a final notice with adoption and enforcement dates (to be confirmed). Required action: Monitor the KATS 고시·공고 board for the final notice and effective date.

6. On enforcement — Transition. Required action: Update certification records, self-inspection procedures, and product registrations to reflect the 20 cm criterion and the crush-test item. Align new certifications to the revised requirements from the effective date.

   
   

Bottom Line

These are targeted, harmonization-driven changes — not a wholesale overhaul — but they shift two boundaries that matter: what counts as a tablet PC, and how high-energy lithium cells are physically tested. The window to influence the final text and to ready your test evidence runs only until July 10, 2026. Manufacturers and importers should use it to audit affected models, confirm crush-test coverage, and comment where a product is caught at the margin.