South Korean cosmetics company Amorepacific apologized Tuesday after several of its cosmetics products were found to contain metal traces above the permissible level. 

According to the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, six products, including skin concealers and eyebrow pencils from Aritaum and Etude House, cosmetics brands under Amorepacific, contained antimony exceeding the permissible level of 10 micrograms per gram.
 
“We apologize for the incident, we should have put all our focus on quality assurance. We will do our best to prevent similar cases from happening again,” said Amorepacific in a statement.

On Monday, the ministry banned sales of 13 cosmetics products sold at eight companies including Amorepacific, and ordered a recall. 

The company said customers who have products on the recall list can visit Aritaum or Etude House stores to get the products exchanged or refunded.

By Kim Da-sol (ddd@heraldcorp.com)