South Korea Regulatory News

On February 12, 2025, South Korea’s National Institute of Chemical Safety (NICS) announced a partial revision of the classification and labelling of certain chemical substances. The revision include...

On February 12, 2025, South Korea’s National Institute of Chemical Safety (NICS) announced a partial revision of the classification and labelling of certain chemical substances. The revision includes reclassification of specific restricted substances and some regulatory changes. The purpose of this partial revision is to comply with the recent amendment of Article 27 of K-REACH regarding restricted substances.  

Key Updates 

1. Substance Reclassification 

• Chrysotile will be reclassified from a restricted substance to a banned substance in accordance with the Ministry of Environment’s announcement (no. 2024-253). 

        2. Regulatory Changes 

• The entry for for Chrysotile as a restricted substance (no. 06-5-7) will be removed and it will be listed as a banned substance (no. 06-4-27). 

• Only the designation of the substance will change - no further changes to hazard classification or labeling requirements. 

Public Feedback 

A public consultation was held on this revision allowing stakeholders to submit  comments on the amendments and any suggested revisions to NICS until March 4, 2025.  

The South Korean Ministry of Environment (MoE), in collaboration with the Ministry of Justice (MoJ), has launched an 8-month voluntary reporting period, starting from February 28, 2025. This initiativ...

The South Korean Ministry of Environment (MoE), in collaboration with the Ministry of Justice (MoJ), has launched an 8-month voluntary reporting period, starting from February 28, 2025. This initiative is aimed at companies that have failed to meet the registration, change registration, or prior notification requirements under K-REACH. 

Purpose 

• The purpose of this voluntary reporting period is to collect data on chemical safety and enhance regulatory compliance, ensuring that companies align with K-REACH laws.  

• The ultimate goal is to protect public health and the environment from exposure to harmful chemicals. 

Key requirements 

• Companies that have manufactured or imported chemicals before February 27, 2025, without complying with K-REACH, are subject to the voluntary reporting. 

• To voluntarily report, companies must submit relevant documents (including manufacturing and import details) via the Chemical Substance Information Management System (kreach.me.go.kr). 

Benefits of voluntary reporting and future inspection 

• Companies that voluntarily report violations and take corrective actions will be exempt from severe penalties such as imprisonment of up to 5 years or a fine of up to 100 million KRW.  

• They will also not face surcharges based on sales, and ongoing investigations or prosecutions will be considered with more leniency. 

• The MoE will conduct thorough on-site inspections after the voluntary reporting period ends, and any violations found will be dealt with strictly in accordance with the regulations. 

On January 21, 2025, South Korea's Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (MFDS) released updated regulations for advertising and labelling of cosmetics to prevent false or exaggerated claims and guide ...

On January 21, 2025, South Korea's Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (MFDS) released updated regulations for advertising and labelling of cosmetics to prevent false or exaggerated claims and guide the industry.

Objective of the amendment

The Ministry has found cases of misleading advertisements that give false or exaggerated advertising After analysing the violations, the MFDS has expanded the list of prohibited expressions. These changes aim to protect consumers and ensure cosmetics businesses follow proper advertising standards.

Key prohibited expressions:

• Prohibition on expression of designation/recommendation (e.g. for hospital use)
• Prohibition on expression of human-derived ingredients (e.g. exosomes)
• Prohibition on misleading product usage methods (e.g. microneedles)
• Prohibition on claims about reducing skin age (e.g. reduces skin age by n years)

The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety plans to provide specific guidance on cosmetics matters of concern and prohibited expressions, assisting cosmetics salespeople in labeling and advertising.

On December 20, 2024, the South Korean Ministry of Environment (MoE) announced the approval of the first 15 biocidal products under the Consumer Chemical Products and Biocides Safety Act (K-BPR).  ...

On December 20, 2024, the South Korean Ministry of Environment (MoE) announced the approval of the first 15 biocidal products under the Consumer Chemical Products and Biocides Safety Act (K-BPR). 

Background on the approval of biocidal substances and products

• The K-BPR requires all biocidal substances and products to be tested for safety, and effectiveness, before being placed on the Korean market.  

• To date, 56 biocidal substances have been approved and 15 biocidal products using these approved substances were approved for the first time, on December 20, 2024.  

Approval requirements for relevant products 

• In addition to these 15 biocidal products, products containing fungicides, pesticides, acaricides, and acaricide types must be approved as biocidal products by December 2025. 

• If they are not approved, they will be banned from distribution and sale from July 1, 2026. 

Sequential evaluation plans

• The MoE and National Institute of Chemical Safety (NICS) plan to sequentially evaluate the safety and efficacy of 10 types of biocidal substances and products based on the deadlines under the K-BPR Act. 

On December 31, 2024, the Korean Environment Corporation (K-ECO) notified an updated template of the Letter of Confirmation (LoC) for chemical substance verification.     Key Contents   ...

On December 31, 2024, the Korean Environment Corporation (K-ECO) notified an updated template of the Letter of Confirmation (LoC) for chemical substance verification.  

Key Contents  

• Based on Article 2 of the Enforcement Rule of K-CCA (Korea Chemical Control Act), manufacturers and importers must submit either a Chemical Substance Composition Statement or the LoC to the Ministry of Environment (MoE), for chemical substance verification.  

• According to the K-CCA amendment, the previous template of the LoC can only be used till August 6, 2025. After this date, only the new template will be accepted.  

• The deadline for acceptance of the previous LoC may be moved earlier. In that case, it will be notified through the Chemical Substance Information Management System. 

• As of January 1, 2025, the authority responsible for chemical substance verification has changed from the Korea Chemical Management Association (KMCA) to the Korea Environment Corporation (K-ECO). 

The new LoC template can be downloaded from the official website of Chemical Substance Information Management System (k-reach.me.go.kr). 

On January 14, 2025, the South Korean Ministry of Environment (MoE) reported that 86 additional products purchased from overseas do not meet local safety standards. This was discovered after the MoE e...

On January 14, 2025, the South Korean Ministry of Environment (MoE) reported that 86 additional products purchased from overseas do not meet local safety standards. This was discovered after the MoE expanded its investigation, which initially reviewed 558 products and later added 32 more items for review, as noted in our previous newsletter: South Korea Blocks Unsafe Overseas Purchases.  

Unsafe Products Identified 

The 86 products include 40 household chemical products, 38 metal accessories, and 8 asbestos-containing products. The MoE has requested the Korean Customs Service to block the import of these products to protect public health.  

Focus on Online Retailers 

The MoE will continue to monitor whether these products have been blocked by online distributors such as AliExpress and Temu. Additionally, the budget for safety investigations will be significantly increased in 2025 to examine the safety of more products purchased overseas.  

South Korea’s Ministry of Employment and Labor, in collaboration with the National Fire Agency, has successfully unified the information for 565 of the 4,091 overlapping chemicals in their respectiv...

South Korea’s Ministry of Employment and Labor, in collaboration with the National Fire Agency, has successfully unified the information for 565 of the 4,091 overlapping chemicals in their respective chemical information systems, ensuring consistency in GHS (Globally Harmonized System) information.

What is GHS? 

The UN Globally Harmonized System for Classification and Labelling of Chemicals (GHS) is an internationally standardized system for classifying and labelling chemical substances, designed to enhance safety by providing consistent hazard information.

GHS Background 

The Ministry's Material Safety Data Sheet System (covering 20,555 chemicals) and the National Fire Agency's National Integrated Dangerous Goods Information System (covering 7,364 chemical substances) contained discrepancies in overlapping information for 4,091 substances, causing confusion for users.

Collaboration and Completion 

In a collaboration between the Korea Occupational Safety and Health Agency (KOSHA) and the Korea Fire Institute (KFI), the unification of chemical information was completed in  2024. This includes matching GHS details such as pictograms, signal words, hazard phrases, and precautionary statements.

Benefits Include

• Public Safety: Ensures that the public receives consistent and accurate information about chemical products.

• Industry Clarity: Reduces confusion when importing, exporting, and handling chemicals.

• Government Response: Enhances the government's ability to respond swiftly and accurately to chemical accidents.