South Korea's cosmetics industry posted a trade surplus exceeding $10 billion for the first time last year, becoming the world's second-largest cosmetics exporter. Industry observers say K-beauty is rapidly diversifying away from its China-centric export structure toward the United States, Europe and the Middle East.
According to the "2025 Cosmetics Production, Export and Import Statistics" released Wednesday by the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, Korea's cosmetics exports reached $11.4 billion last year, up 11.8% from $10.2 billion the previous year. The figure marks an all-time high. Imports, meanwhile, fell 2.3% from a year earlier to $1.29 billion, producing a cosmetics trade surplus of $10.1 billion. It is the first time the cosmetics trade surplus has exceeded $10 billion.
Country rankings also shifted. Korea overtook the United States last year to become the world's second-largest cosmetics exporter, trailing only France. France led with $24.3 billion in exports, followed by Korea at $11.4 billion and the United States at $10.8 billion.
Growth in the US market was particularly striking. Korean cosmetics exports to the United States rose 15% from a year earlier to $2.2 billion, making the country Korea's largest export destination for the first time. Exports to China fell 19% to $2 billion, dropping to second place. Industry analysts say K-beauty is succeeding in reducing its dependence on China and capturing North America-focused consumer markets.
Expansion in European and Middle Eastern markets was also notable. Exports to Poland surged 111.7% from a year earlier to $282 million, ranking ninth. Exports to the United Arab Emirates rose 67.2% to $286 million. France also newly entered the top 20 export destinations. The total number of export destinations expanded to 202 countries last year from 172 in 2024.
By product category, skincare and color cosmetics drove the export growth. Skincare exports totaled $8.53 billion, accounting for 74.7% of the total, while color cosmetics reached $1.51 billion, or 13.2%.
Domestic production also hit a record high. Cosmetics production reached 17.94 trillion won last year, up 2.3% from a year earlier. Among responsible distributors, LG Household & Health Care (051900.KS) maintained its top position with 3.92 trillion won, followed by AmorePacific (090430.KS) with 3.03 trillion won. APR (278470.KS) saw production jump to 285 billion won from 102.6 billion won, leaping to fourth place from 21st a year earlier.
"In response to the strengthening of cosmetics safety assessment systems in the United States, China and elsewhere, we plan to expand guidelines for the domestic industry, training of specialized personnel and the establishment of a global regulatory support system," a Ministry of Food and Drug Safety official said. "In September this year, we will host the Global Cosmetics Regulatory Authorities Summit (GCORAS) to strengthen the global regulatory cooperation framework."
