Ikea will recall, end sales of 15 dressers in Korea

Ikea Korea said Friday that it would recall and stop the sale of 15 dressers that failed to meet safety standards set recently by the government.

In July, the Swedish furniture chain sparked controversy in Korea as the company said it would offer a refund for MALM dressers on customers’ request. The decision was deemed insufficient as the refund was limited to customers who requested it and the product was not removed from shelves.

The MALM dresser was a popular low-cost model that tipped over and killed three children in the United States since 2014. Although the company suggested a recall plan to voluntarily refund every customer and stop sales in the U.S., the same product continued to be sold in other countries, including Korea and China.

The incident prompted the Korean Agency for Technology and Standards (KATS) to investigate every dresser produced in Korea under safety standards borrowed from the American Society for Testing and Materials. Products from the top 11 furniture brands were tested.

As a result, 27 dressers from seven companies were detected, upon which KATS sent requests for recalls to their manufacturers. Products subject to recall were scheduled to be immediately removed from sale. The company will exchange, fix or refund any products sold.