Human interest in beauty knows no borders. Cosmetics today have become part of daily life and culture everywhere in the world, and the cosmetics industry is likewise connecting rapidly across national boundaries. Innovative products and technologies from countries around the world, K-beauty among them, are seeping into the lives of consumers everywhere. As industry boundaries disappear, the challenges facing regulation are changing as well. New ingredients and technologies, safety assessments using artificial intelligence, the expansion of digital distribution and demands for sustainability are all reshaping the environment surrounding cosmetics at speed.
Responding to these changes takes more than the experience and effort of any single country. Cosmetics regulation, too, must be connected and must develop together. Laws, institutions and industrial conditions differ from country to country, but the goal is the same: to protect consumer trust through safe products and to create an environment in which innovation can continue. That is why sharing experience and expertise and seeking answers to common challenges together is necessary. The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety has taken note of this demand of the times. The 1st Global Cosmetics Regulatory Authorities Summit (GCORAS), to be held in Seoul on the 7th of this month, begins from these considerations. GCORAS brings together the heads of cosmetics regulatory agencies from around the world to discuss changes and current issues in the global regulatory environment, share regulatory experience and expertise, and explore directions for future cooperation.
This gathering must not end as a one-off event. Its goal is to lay a foundation on which countries with differing regulatory systems can communicate and cooperate on a continuing basis, and to build a culture of trust and cooperation in the field of cosmetics regulation. South Korea has grown into one of the world's major centers of the cosmetics industry, and K-beauty has become important content through which the country communicates with the world. Behind that growth lies not only the creative innovation of companies but also the role of regulation, which has supported the industry's development while protecting public safety. Now is the time to share our experience with the world, to learn from the world's diverse experience, and to move a step further together. What GCORAS aims at is not to merge each country's regulations into a single standard. It is to identify common challenges while respecting differences, and to widen the points of contact where those challenges can be solved together. Through this, it will be possible to offer consumers safer and more trustworthy cosmetics, and companies a more predictable global environment. It can also contribute to reducing unnecessary regulatory barriers and to laying the groundwork for innovative technologies and products to reach global markets.
The future of cosmetics will be more diverse and will change faster still. It is not enough for regulation merely to follow that change. We must prepare for the future together, so that regulation understands innovation and innovation can grow on a foundation of safety and trust. I hope that this occasion, where the heads of regulatory agencies from around the world meet to share their thinking and discuss the future, becomes a new milestone in cooperation on cosmetics regulation. That first meeting will not stop at a one-off promise but will lead to continuing dialogue and action. Just as beauty knows no borders, neither should safety and trust. Cooperating across borders and creating new possibilities beyond the boundaries of beauty — South Korea intends to set out on that path together with the world.
