The Ministry of SMEs and Startups (Minister Oh Young-joo, hereinafter referred to as the Ministry of SMEs and Startups) announced that on the 2nd, it held an on-site meeting with cosmetics exporting companies at CJ Olive Young’s Seongsu-dong Innovation Store (Olive Young N) and announced ‘Measures to Secure Sustainability of Global Expansion of K-Beauty SMEs and Venture Companies.’
Last year, cosmetics exports reached a record high of $6.8 billion, and cosmetics exports in the first quarter of 2025 also reached $1.84 billion, up about 20% from the same period last year ($1.53 billion), renewing the highest first-quarter record ever.
However, in the midst of the changing trade environment, including the recent US tariff measures, a survey of small and medium-sized businesses in the cosmetics industry showed concerns that if the US basic tariff is followed by a reciprocal tariff, this could lead to a decline in price competitiveness, which could have a significant impact on our companies’ exports to the US. They also complained of difficulties such as the burden of export market diversification costs, difficulty in obtaining tariff and customs clearance information, and delays in export contracts.
Accordingly, the Ministry of SMEs and Startups has supplemented the 'Measures to Strengthen the Global Competitiveness of K-Beauty SMEs' announced in July of last year, and has prepared support measures to accelerate the globalization of K-Beauty SMEs, including ▲establishing a specialized consulting and response system for U.S. tariff measures, ▲strengthening three major capabilities for entering new markets, and ▲discovering and fostering promising export companies.
◆ Specialized consultation and response system
First, we will establish a ‘cosmetics tariff response advisory group’ and introduce a ‘tariff AI chatbot consultation.’
The Korea Testing & Research Institute for Chemical Industry (KTR), which operates the Ministry of SMEs and Startups’ overseas export regulation response support project, will form an advisory group including customs brokers and experts from the Cosmetics Association, and will introduce a KakaoTalk AI chatbot consultation system to provide specialized consultation on customs fields such as US tariff imposition procedures and proof of origin. Starting this month, 15 customs policy briefing sessions will be held in the cosmetics field, and the Korea Customs Service will simplify the issuance procedure for proof of origin for cosmetics to domestic manufacturing certificates, etc.
Second, we will support powerful global marketing by establishing a ‘K-Beauty Online Marketing Program’ that connects local influencers in the United States.
In order to help promising export companies quickly gain a foothold in the US market, we utilize Olive Young’s network to discover local influencers with high influence in the US beauty market, link them with promising export companies, and support marketing by utilizing influencer power to increase awareness of K-beauty brands.
Third, we will also operate specialized programs for advancing into the US market, such as the introduction of a new ‘K-Beauty Luxury Goods Envoy Group.’
In the second half of this year, we will form a ‘K-Beauty Luxury Delegation’ comprised of innovative and marketable companies to promote their products at the Cosmoprof exhibition in Las Vegas and help them meet new buyers, including large local distributors. Furthermore, in order to facilitate the entry of B2C companies into the US market, we will set up a separate ‘K-Beauty Hall’ at K-CON in LA in the second half of the year, where export consultations and sales promotions will be held.
◆ Strengthening the three major capabilities for entering new markets
First, the 'Cosmo Beauty Seoul x K-Beauty Festa', which invites overseas big buyers and holds exhibitions and consultations through public-private collaboration, will be held at COEX from May 28 to 30.
The government will join forces with the private sector to significantly expand the number of participating companies and overseas buyers in the previously held private beauty international fair, 'Cosmo Beauty Seoul', and will also hold a 'Big Buyer Invitation Consultation Session' to invite large distribution companies with offline distribution channels in the US, Japan, and other countries to Korea.
We will also support expansion of professional seller sales agency support for companies lacking regional online platform entry and marketing capabilities, such as those in Europe or South America, and entry into new markets using global online shopping malls, such as ‘K-Beauty Special Exhibitions’ held during special periods in each region.
Second, we plan to increase the support limit for overseas certification of K-beauty by 40% and apply a fast track to all overseas certifications of K-beauty to shorten the time from announcement to selection by approximately 1.5 months.
In order to ease the burden of export regulations when entering new markets, the overseas certification support limit for K-beauty will be temporarily increased from 35 million won to 50 million won. In addition, the overseas certification fast track, which is currently only applied to the US FDA and European CPNP, will be applied to all overseas certifications in the cosmetics field, including in the UK, India, and Germany, to greatly simplify the review process and provide rapid support.
Third, we will also establish a ‘K-Beauty Smart Factory Partnership’ to digitalize manufacturing sites.
The Ministry of SMEs and Startups, the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, and experts are newly establishing the 'K-Beauty Smart Factory Partnership'. The Ministry of SMEs and Startups will support the construction of smart factories, the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety will provide consulting and education related to CGMP (Current Good Manufacturing Practice) certification as a package, and experts will support the transfer of know-how and mentoring to promote the digitalization of K-Beauty manufacturing sites.
In order to innovate K-beauty products and create high added value, we will establish a 'K-beauty R&D Track' to support technology development funds and discover promising strategic items for the future, and establish a technology roadmap for the cosmetics industry to support startups and R&D in the relevant field.
◆ Discovering and nurturing promising K-beauty export companies
First, we will expand the 'K-Beauty Creator Jalindsey' participation platform from the US to Southeast Asia.
The 'K-Beauty Creator Challenge' is a program that Amazon, Cosmax, and Kolmar Korea launched last year to discover and foster promising K-beauty companies. This year, we are expanding participation in global platforms for entering the Southeast Asian and Japanese markets to support market diversification, and for selected companies, we are providing a foundation for growth through linkages with government export support projects.
Second, we will complete the establishment of the K-beauty fund by December and support M&A activation.
In order to support promising startups in the beauty industry to advance into the global market, we will complete the formation of the 'Global K-Beauty Fund' launched last month to ensure full-scale investment within the year, and from next year, we will also promote fund operation to activate M&A. In addition, we will establish a 'K-Beauty Global Track' within the Youth Entrepreneurship Academy to support new product development and global marketing in cooperation with Olive Young, Amazon, Kolmar, and Cosmax so that the creative aesthetic perspectives of young people can lead to startups and entry into the global market.
Following the announcement of the support plan on this day, we held an on-site meeting with small and medium-sized enterprises exporting to the US, Japan, Europe, etc. together with Olive Young to share the policy content and collect opinions from the beauty industry so that the policy can be established in the field in the future.
Many of the small and medium-sized enterprises that participated in the on-site meeting said that they are considering export diversification and that this is a time when they urgently need prompt information on U.S. tariff policy trends, expert assistance on response strategies, and government support for responding to export regulations in other countries.
Among the companies attending the meeting, CEO Shim Geon-woo of Liquidation Co., Ltd., which produces skincare products and exports them to the U.S., emphasized the need for the government’s systematic support for strengthening cosmetics regulations along with the U.S. tariff measures. The Ministry of SMEs and Startups responded that the measures included in this plan, such as the K-beauty specialized support system for responding to trade issues and support for obtaining certification, will be of practical help in resolving these issues.
Kim Jin-woong, CEO of Hair Plus Co., Ltd., a hair care product exporter, suggested that continuous and long-term support is needed so that our products can succeed as brands overseas. In response, the Ministry of SMEs and Startups expressed its intention to further support the localization of domestic brands through the K-Beauty International Expo, dispatching K-Beauty luxury brand delegations, and establishing separate K-Beauty pavilions at famous overseas exhibitions included in this plan. Lee Seon-jeong, CEO of Olive Young, also stated that she would continue to help so that the products of our small and medium-sized companies can be loved overseas for a long time.
There were also suggestions to request support for specialized personnel in overseas marketing and R&D. CEO Yoo Yong-seon of STU suggested easing the standards for hiring foreigners for overseas sales and marketing, and CEO Jo In-je of Heineature suggested activating a system that matches R&D personnel with small and medium-sized enterprises.
Regarding this, the Ministry of SMEs and Startups stated that it is currently operating the K-Export Warrior Academy, which can utilize overseas students and graduates, and that it will expand this in the future to meet the diverse manpower needs of export companies and, if necessary, consult with relevant ministries to resolve difficulties faced by SMEs in securing manpower one by one.
Minister Oh Young-joo said, “Although the recent trend of strengthening global protectionism is a red light for the globalization of K-beauty SMEs, if the private sector and companies join forces and make additional efforts based on the know-how and competitiveness accumulated so far, this could be an opportunity for K-beauty to solidify its position as the number one company in the global market.” He added, “We will not spare any attention and policy support so that K-beauty can drive the growth of our SMEs and exports of the entire country.”
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