Legoland to recall harmful unicorn cap

Legoland Korea announces on its official website that it will recall all unicorn hats sold at its theme park and refund customers. / Screenshot from Legoland's official website

By Kim Jae-heun

Legoland Korea Resort has decided to recall unicorn caps sold at its theme park after discovering they contain excessive amounts of harmful chemicals, the company said Wednesday.

According to the safety inspection on children's products conducted by the Korea Agency for Technology and Standards, affiliated with the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, 1.4 times more nonylphenol than the maximum allowable level of 100 milligrams per kilogram was found in the unicorn hats.

The theme park stopped selling the product immediately and recalled those that have already been sold, following the ministry's order. Legoland said it has sold a total of 292 hats since July 1, when they first went on sale.

“First of all, we are truly sorry for causing such a problem,” a Legoland official said. “After confirming the fact, we immediately stopped sales of the unicorn hats. We will make more efforts to strengthen product safety by conducting a quality re-examination of all products from the same manufacturer.”

The government also strongly advised people to stop wearing the hats as exposure to nonylphenol can cause development disorders in reproductive organs.

Nonylphenol detected within the hat is the main raw material of nonylphenol ethoxylate used as a surfactant. It is known as an environmental hormone that can cause endocrine system disorders when it enters the human body.

Excessive accumulation of the harmful chemical is said to cause fertility complications in women, increasing the risk of birth defects and premature puberty in girls. It can also inhibit male hormone secretion for men ― causing erectile dysfunction or aspermia.

Nonylphenol ethoxylate is used mainly for dyeing textile products. In 2020, a controversy arose when 28 times more than the stand of nonylphenol was detected in children's face masks in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic.