Kim Ji-young, Director of the Environmental Health Policy Division at the Ministry of Environment, speaks during a briefing at the Government Complex in Sejong, Jan. 14. Yonhap

Korea's standard agency said Wednesday it plans to enhance safety surveillance of products sold on overseas shopping platforms amid soaring direct purchases made by local consumers.

Under the plan, the country will monitor the safety of 1,000 products sold on major overseas platforms this year, sharply up from the 400 evaluated in 2024, according to the Korean Agency for Technology and Standard.

"If a test shows a certain product is hazardous, the government will take precautionary measures, including asking platform operators to remove it from their listings," the agency said.

"We will also make efforts to prevent imports of products that have been recalled in overseas markets," it added.

The agency said it will especially focus on monitoring products for children and seniors.

The total value of online direct buying from overseas advanced 25.6 percent from a year earlier to 2.15 trillion won ($1.47 billion) in the April-June period of 2024, according to a separate report from Statistics Korea.

It marked the largest quarterly figure ever since the agency began compiling relevant data in 2014.

The government also plans to check the safety of 4,700 products sold on domestic shopping platforms, according to the agency. (Yonhap)