A government agency responsible for setting safety standards for products sold in Korea said Sunday that it will begin surveying the dangers of dressers being sold in Korea following public outcry over dressers sold by multinational furniture maker Ikea.

Ikea faced public fury when it was revealed that its Malm line of dressers were being sold in Korea despite being linked to the deaths of six young children abroad.


The fatalities were caused when dressers that were not properly fastened to the wall fell on children playing on the drawers.

Despite the risk, the Korean Agency for Technology and Standards, an agency under the purview of the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, was not able to force a recall because there are currently no safety standards regarding dressers on the books.

The survey will include all dressers being sold in Korea, both domestically produced and imported. The results will be used to write new standards, the agency said.

By Won Ho-jung (hjwon@heraldcorp.com)