# Korean Cosmetics Company Count

> The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (MFDS) lists 32,750 entries of registered or notified cosmetics businesses, and 86.6% of them, 28,358 registrations, are responsible sellers (화장품책임판매업).

Manufacturers (화장품제조업) hold 4,157 registrations and customized cosmetics sellers (맞춤형화장품판매업) hold 235 notifications. Korea Cosmetics Safety Information Group shows counts by business type, dual registration and regional distribution in tables.

- Data retrieved: October 4, 2026
- Latest registration: Oct 2, 2026
- Canonical URL: https://en.safecosmetic.org/statistics/cosmetics-business-count

- All registrations and notifications: 32,750 (As of October 4, 2026)
- Responsible sellers: 28,358 (86.6% of total)
- Manufacturers: 4,157 (12.7% of total)
- Customized cosmetics sellers: 235 (0.7% of total)

## What is the cosmetics company count in Korea right now?

Counted by registrations and notifications, it is 32,750 entries. Responsible sellers are the largest group with 28,358 registrations, followed by manufacturers with 4,157 registrations and customized cosmetics sellers with 235 notifications.

Each registered business counts as one entry. A company with a factory that registers as a manufacturer and also registers as a responsible seller, to distribute products under its own name, counts as 2 entries. Those entries share 28,860 business registration numbers.

**Cosmetics registrations and notifications by business type** (entries)

- Manufacturers: 4,157
- Responsible sellers: 28,358
- Customized cosmetics sellers: 235

**Cosmetics registrations and notifications by business type, with shares** (As of October 4, 2026, entries and %)

| Business type | Entries | Share |
| --- | ---: | ---: |
| Manufacturers | 4,157 | 12.7% |
| Responsible sellers | 28,358 | 86.6% |
| Customized cosmetics sellers | 235 | 0.7% |
| Total | 32,750 | 100.0% |

## What business types make up the cosmetics company count?

The three businesses set by Article 2-2 of the Cosmetics Act (화장품법). Manufacturers and responsible sellers register with the Minister of Food and Drug Safety (Article 3), and customized cosmetics sellers file a notification (Article 3-2).

**Business types and procedures under the Cosmetics Act** (Cosmetics Act, Articles 2, 3 and 3-2)

| Business | Definition in the Act | Procedure | Requirements |
| --- | ---: | ---: | ---: |
| Manufacturers | A business that manufactures all or part of a cosmetic (excluding processes limited to secondary packaging or labeling) | Registration | Facility standards set by Ordinance of the Prime Minister |
| Responsible sellers | A business that distributes or sells cosmetics while managing the quality and safety of the cosmetics it handles, or that brokers or supplies them for import-agency transactions | Registration | Standards for quality control and post-sale safety management, a responsible sales manager (책임판매관리자) |
| Customized cosmetics sellers | A business that sells customized cosmetics | Notification | Facility standards set by Ordinance of the Prime Minister, a customized cosmetics dispensing manager (맞춤형화장품조제관리사) |

[Manufacturer vs Responsible Seller](https://en.safecosmetic.org/articles/manufacturer-vs-responsible-seller) compares the duties of the two businesses article by article.

## How do responsible sellers compare with manufacturers in the cosmetics company count?

Responsible sellers number 6.8 times the manufacturers. That is 28,358 registrations of responsible sellers divided by 4,157 registrations of manufacturers.

Article 2 of the Enforcement Decree of the Cosmetics Act (화장품법 시행령) lists four kinds of responsible seller business. Even without a factory, distributing cosmetics made on commission by a manufacturer, or imported cosmetics, counts as responsible selling. The registration list does not say which of the four applies, so counts by kind are not known.

**Detailed scope of the manufacturing and responsible seller businesses** (Enforcement Decree of the Cosmetics Act, Article 2)

| Business | Detailed scope |
| --- | ---: |
| Manufacturers | A business that manufactures cosmetics directly |
| Manufacturers | A business that manufactures cosmetics on commission |
| Manufacturers | A business that packages cosmetics (primary packaging only) |
| Responsible sellers | A business in which a manufacturer distributes or sells cosmetics it manufactures directly |
| Responsible sellers | A business that distributes or sells cosmetics manufactured on commission by a manufacturer |
| Responsible sellers | A business that distributes or sells imported cosmetics |
| Responsible sellers | A business that brokers or supplies cosmetics for import-agency transactions (e-commerce only) |

## How many in the cosmetics company count both manufacture and sell as responsible sellers?

3,721 business registration numbers hold dual registration. Of the 4,147 business registration numbers with a manufacturer registration, 89.7% also hold a responsible seller registration.

Another 24,556 business registration numbers hold only a responsible seller registration. The 426 with only a manufacturer registration can be read as businesses that take on manufacturing rather than distributing under their own name. The registration list does not record how a business operates, so that reading is an estimate.

**Dual registration as manufacturer and responsible seller, grouped by business registration number** (As of October 4, 2026, business registration numbers)

| Category | Business registration numbers |
| --- | ---: |
| Registered as both manufacturer and responsible seller | 3,721 |
| Registered as responsible seller only | 24,556 |
| Registered as manufacturer only | 426 |
| All business registration numbers | 28,860 |

All business registration numbers include operators that filed only a customized cosmetics seller notification, so the total exceeds the sum of the three lines above.

## Which regions lead the cosmetics company count?

Gyeonggi-do and Seoul. Together they hold 22,013 entries, or 67.2% of the total.

**Top 5 provinces and metropolitan cities by cosmetics registrations and notifications** (As of October 4, 2026, entries)

| Province or metropolitan city | Manufacturers | Responsible sellers | Customized cosmetics sellers | Total |
| --- | ---: | ---: | ---: | ---: |
| Gyeonggi-do | 1,658 | 9,353 | 68 | 11,079 |
| Seoul | 439 | 10,405 | 90 | 10,934 |
| Incheon | 457 | 1,900 | 9 | 2,366 |
| Busan | 145 | 991 | 14 | 1,150 |
| Chungcheongbuk-do | 225 | 646 | 0 | 871 |

The order changes when only manufacturers are counted. All 16 provinces and metropolitan cities are in [Cosmetics Manufacturers by Region](https://en.safecosmetic.org/statistics/cosmetics-manufacturers-by-region) and [Responsible Sellers by Region](https://en.safecosmetic.org/statistics/cosmetics-sellers-by-region).

## What should you watch for when reading cosmetics company count figures?

An entry count is not a company count. A company that registers two business types counts as 2 entries, and a company that registers several sites is counted once per site.

The registration list has no output or sales figures. Nothing in this data supports saying that a business type or region with more entries also produces more.

The dataset description does not say when businesses that are suspended or have filed for closure leave the list. For the current status of a specific company, search the company search of MFDS Nedrug directly; the site is in Korean.

## How were the cosmetics company count figures counted?

We counted the registration list retrieved on October 4, 2026 through the cosmetics manufacturer information function of the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety dataset "Cosmetics Information" on Korea's Public Data Portal. The list holds the business type, company name, registration (permit) date, and the city, county or district of the location.

- The list retrieved has 32,927 entries. Lines with the same company serial number and business type (177 entries) were counted once, leaving 32,750 entries.
- Figures count business registrations and notifications. A company registered as both a manufacturer and a responsible seller counts as 2.
- Lines whose location used a former administrative name (Jeollabuk-do 14, Jeollanam-do 18, Gangwon-do 9, Gwangju 12) were merged under the current name.
- The latest registration date is October 2, 2026. Totals and shares were calculated by Korea Cosmetics Safety Information Group by counting the list.

## Frequently asked questions

### Is the cosmetics company count the same as the number of companies?

No. The 32,750 figure counts business registrations and notifications; those entries share 28,860 business registration numbers. A company registered as both a manufacturer and a responsible seller counts as 2 entries.

### Do I need a manufacturer registration to start a cosmetics brand?

Article 2 of the Enforcement Decree of the Cosmetics Act classifies distributing and selling cosmetics made on commission by a manufacturer, without a factory of your own, as the responsible seller business. To manufacture directly, you must meet the facility standards and register as a manufacturer. Specific registration requirements should be checked in the Enforcement Rule of the Cosmetics Act (화장품법 시행규칙) and with the regional Office of Food and Drug Safety that has jurisdiction.

### Why do customized cosmetics sellers file a notification instead of registering?

Article 3-2 of the Cosmetics Act requires customized cosmetics seller businesses to notify the Minister of Food and Drug Safety. The article does not state why notification was chosen.

### What date is the cosmetics company count based on?

The list was retrieved through the public API on October 4, 2026. The latest registration date on the list is October 2, 2026.

### Where can I check whether a specific cosmetics company is registered?

In the company search menu of MFDS Nedrug, a Korean-language site of the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety. Under business type (업종), choose manufacturing (화장품제조), responsible selling (화장품책임판매) or customized cosmetics selling (맞춤형화장품판매), then enter the company name (업체명). The results show the company name, business type, permit date (허가일자) and address.

## Sources

- [Ministry of Food and Drug Safety: Cosmetics Information dataset](https://www.data.go.kr/data/15020628/openapi.do) - Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (MFDS), Public Data Portal open API · page in Korean · retrieved oct 4, 2026
- [MFDS Nedrug company search](https://nedrug.mfds.go.kr/pbp/CCBBA01) - Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (MFDS), Integrated drug information system · page in Korean
- [Cosmetics Act](https://www.law.go.kr/%EB%B2%95%EB%A0%B9/%ED%99%94%EC%9E%A5%ED%92%88%EB%B2%95) - Ministry of Government Legislation, National Law Information Center · in force April 2, 2026 · page in Korean
- [Enforcement Decree of the Cosmetics Act](https://www.law.go.kr/%EB%B2%95%EB%A0%B9/%ED%99%94%EC%9E%A5%ED%92%88%EB%B2%95%20%EC%8B%9C%ED%96%89%EB%A0%B9) - Ministry of Government Legislation, National Law Information Center · in force April 2, 2026 · page in Korean