South Korea Regulatory News

On September 26, 2023, the Ministry of Employment and Labor (MoEL) announced the names, hazards, and risks of 55 new chemical substances manufactured and imported in the third quarter of 2023, as well...

On September 26, 2023, the Ministry of Employment and Labor (MoEL) announced the names, hazards, and risks of 55 new chemical substances manufactured and imported in the third quarter of 2023, as well as measures to prevent workers’ health problems related to these substances. 

Manufacturers and importers of new chemicals must submit a Hazard and Risk Investigation Report to the Ministry of Employment and Labor (MoEL) 30 days before the date of manufacture or import of the new chemical, and the MoEL regularly announces the name, hazards, and risks of the new chemicals. 

20 of the 55 new chemicals announced this time, are classified as either acutely toxic, skin and eye irritating, skin sensitising, or hazardous to the aquatic environment including (S)-Nornicotine and diphenylphosphine. 

Accordingly, the Ministry of Employment and Labor notified employers who manufacture or import the substance of measures to prevent health problems among workers who handle harmful or dangerous chemicals. 

Choi Tae-ho, director of the Industrial Accident Prevention and Supervision Policy Bureau, said, "It should not stop at knowing the harmfulness and risks of new chemicals and measures to protect workers". He emphasized, "It is important for employers to install local exhaust systems and provide and wear personal protective equipment such as respiratory protection, protective gloves, and safety glasses, while implementing basic safety and health rules, such as thoroughly wearing personal protective equipment when handling chemicals." 

On October 6, 2023, the National Institute of Environmental Research (NIER) of South Korea published guidance on product labelling when submitting the approval documents for biocidal products under K...

On October 6, 2023, the National Institute of Environmental Research (NIER) of South Korea published guidance on product labelling when submitting the approval documents for biocidal products under K-BPR. 

A person who intends to obtain approval for a biocidal product shall prepare the correct label (labels) for each product in accordance with the relevant labelling laws and regulations and shall indicate the label claim that has been finally approved in accordance with the announced standards on the product. Accordingly, the National Institute of Environmental Research has prepared this guide so that applicants for approval can prepare approval application data smoothly by providing standards for writing biocidal product label claims and introducing cases. 

On the 16th of October 2023, the Cosmetics Policy Division of the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety announced that it is considering a pilot project to provide electronic information subject to labelin...

On the 16th of October 2023, the Cosmetics Policy Division of the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety announced that it is considering a pilot project to provide electronic information subject to labeling under the Cosmetics Act. This initiative aims to make it easier for consumers to check information on products, reduce social costs such as the generation of packaging waste, and make it easier for companies to introduce different types of packaging containers.

The information about the pilot project is listed below.

• (Business Purpose) To review the feasibility of introducing an electronic information provision method (e-label) in the cosmetics sector.

* Verification by evaluation index, such as enhancing consumer information readability, reducing costs associated with packaging material disposal, and lowering carbon emissions during the project period, will be conducted.

• (Contents) All information under Article 10 of the Cosmetics Act and sub-regulations should be displayed.

• (Project period) January 2024 – December 2025 (it can be extended)

• (Method of provision) Display some information on the containers and packaging of cosmetics and display all information on the e-label to be provided electronically.

* In the case of QR codes, etc., the display medium and the method of operation (link to the homepage, etc.) will be chosen autonomously by the company

On September 27, 2023, the Ministry of Employment and Labor (MOEL) in South Korea announced that it has promulgated an amendment of the ‘Occupational Safety and Health Act Enforcement Rules’. The ...

On September 27, 2023, the Ministry of Employment and Labor (MOEL) in South Korea announced that it has promulgated an amendment of the ‘Occupational Safety and Health Act Enforcement Rules’. The amendment includes the following key contents: 

1. Improving of the Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS) system to protect the trade secrets of chemical substances. The MSDS is a kind of chemical substance manual that lists the name and content of chemical substances, harmfulness, hazards, handling precautions, etc. When chemical substances are sold to other workplaces, the MSDS must be included, but to protect trade secrets, the MSDS can be provided with alternative names and contents with the approval of the Ministry of Employment and Labor. 

2. The range of use of alternative names and alternative contents has been improved to reflect the voice of industry. In the future, not only ‘mixing’ but also ‘physical molding’ and ‘subdivision’ methods will be allowed, and if other products are made from trade secret chemical substances ‘overseas’ and ‘imported’, alternative names and alternative contents can be used to create ‘Material Safety Health Data’. 

3. The period for completing refresher training for safety and health managers will be extended. In order to allow job training candidates such as safety and health managers to complete their training at a time of their choosing without being constrained by the schedule of the training institution, the period for completing refresher training is extended from 3 months before and after (a total of 6 months) based on the date of completion the new training to 6 months before and after (a total of 1 year). 

4. The regular education cycle for workers will be relaxed from ‘every 3 months’ to ‘every six months’, and if regular safety education and new safety education under the ‘Special Act on Harbor Safety’ have been completed, the time for regular education and employment will be reduced. 

5. For companies that only provide health-related education, the requirement is relaxed so that more than half of each course’s education time must be completed. 

6. For daily workers and fixed-term workers with a contract duration of less than one week, if they return to the same workplace with the same job within one week of completing the employment education (or special education), the education is exempted. 

7. For fixed-term workers with a contract duration of less than one week the education time is relaxed to 1 hour, and for fixed-term workers with a contract duration of more than one week and less than one month, it is relaxed to 4 hours. 

8. In addition, matters related to risk assessment will be added to the regular education content for workers and supervisors and employment education. 

On September 12, 2023, the South Korean Ministry of Environment (MoE) notified the World Trade Organization (WTO) of the document “Designation of Consumer Chemical Products subject to Safety Verific...

On September 12, 2023, the South Korean Ministry of Environment (MoE) notified the World Trade Organization (WTO) of the document “Designation of Consumer Chemical Products subject to Safety Verification, and Safety and Labeling Standards Thereof".

To protect public health and prevent any incidents like the humidifier disinfectant case, MoE designated consumer chemical products that need risk prevention as consumer chemical products subject to safety verification and established their safety and labeling standards for safety management.

It opens for comments for 60 days from the notification date. The proposed date for adaptation and enforcement of the designation is December 31, 2023. The document contains the following:

Major Contents:

- Strengthening and improving safety and labeling standards of Consumer Chemical Products

- Reinforcement of 'container and packaging' safety management, etc

On July 10, 2023, the Ministry of Environment (MOE) of South Korea published an Administrative Notice of Partial Amendment to the Regulations on the Stipulated Quantities for Toxic Substances, Restric...

On July 10, 2023, the Ministry of Environment (MOE) of South Korea published an Administrative Notice of Partial Amendment to the Regulations on the Stipulated Quantities for Toxic Substances, Restricted Substances, Prohibited Substances, and Permitted Substances. The proposed amendment aims to set the upper and lower stipulated quantities for 6 types of new toxic substances.  

This is to prepare a specified quantity for each substance for classification (Group 1, Group 2, and Exemption) subject to submission of the Chemical Accident Prevention and Control Plan for changes such as additional designated toxic substances and specified quantity of previously designated substances due to the amendment of the Designation of Toxic Substances (National Institute of Environmental Research Notice No. 2023-21) published on June 1, 2023. 

On September 22, 2023, the cosmetic evaluation division of the National Institute of Food and Drug Safety Evaluation(NIFDS) established the guidelines for pigment testing methods in cosmetics. It w...

On September 22, 2023, the cosmetic evaluation division of the National Institute of Food and Drug Safety Evaluation(NIFDS) established the guidelines for pigment testing methods in cosmetics.

It was established in order to allow the cosmetics industry to manage pigment testing methods autonomously.

This guide provides an easy explanation of the pigment testing method for cosmetics or describes the position of the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety.

Since the guide has no external legal effect, it is recommended to use it only for reference despite the description method of the text ('~should be, etc.).

This guide is also based on the current scientific and technical facts and effective regulations as of September 13, 2023, so it can be applied differently depending on the latest revised laws and specific facts.