In Korea, design applications for products falling within certain classes undergo partial examination only, in which only basic requirements for registration are examined to ensure that rights can be promptly secured. Designs that undergo partial examination generally involve approximately a one month examination period, whereas substantive examination of designs takes approximately seven or eight months.

As a result of KIPO's official implementation of the 14th Edition of the Locarno Classification as of January 1, 2023, the classification of certain industrial designs has been changed, such that the following products are no longer subject to partial examination:

Crutches, crutch armrests, crutch tips, fine dust masks, sanitary masks, yellow dust masks, disposable face masks, face masks for infection control, and face shields for infection control

On the other hand, the following products are now newly subject to partial examination:

Exercise belts, nail polish containers, stick foundation containers, lip gloss containers, lipstick tubes [packaging containers], and perfume burners

Other products that are currently subject to partial examination comprise those within Class 1 (Foodstuffs), Class 2 (Articles of clothing and haberdashery), Class 3 (Travel goods, cases, parasols and personal belongings, not elsewhere specified), Class 5 (Textile piece goods, artificial and natural sheet material), Class 9 (Packaging and containers for the transport or handling of goods), Class 11 (Articles of adornment), and Class 19 (Stationery and office equipment, artists' and teaching materials).