The Korean government will ease rules about what flight passengers can bring in their carry-on luggage from next year to allow new items such as nail clippers, syringes and umbrellas, officials said Thursday.

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transportation said it would adopt a new list of items prohibited in aircraft cabins that has been loosened for travelers’ convenience.

New items allowed include nail clippers, eyebrow razors, sewing needles, syringes, corkscrews, climbing spikes, baseball bats, ski poles and skateboards.

Hair dye and perm products will also be allowed if the combined weight doesn’t exceed 2 kilograms. One can of pepper spray will also be permitted.

Passengers will be still prohibited from carrying on board knives of any length, box cutters and any device with a folding or retractable blade except items such as safety razors and plastic knives.

Metal scissors with a blade of 6 centimeters or longer will not be permitted.

Smoke shells and mock explosives are also not allowed.

Meanwhile, the number of prohibited carry-on items such as guns, bullets and swords detected at airports surged 56 percent over the past five years from 254 cases in 2009 to 390 last year, according to a report submitted by Incheon International Airport.

Only one case of carrying a gun was detected in 2008 but the number jumped to 11 cases last year. As of September, there were three cases this year.

By Lee Ji-yoon (jylee@heraldcorp.com)