South Korea Regulatory News

On October 31, 2023, the South Korean Ministry of Environment (MoE) notified the World Trade Organization (WTO) of the draft partial amendment to the Enforcement Rule of the Act on Registration and Ev...

On October 31, 2023, the South Korean Ministry of Environment (MoE) notified the World Trade Organization (WTO) of the draft partial amendment to the Enforcement Rule of the Act on Registration and Evaluation of Chemical Substances. The amendment aims to reduce trade barriers and facilitate trade. 

The amendment is open for comments for 60 days from the date of notification. The proposed date for adaptation and enforcement of the amendments is January 30, 2024. The partial amendment contains the following: 

For the chemical substances under Article 11(1) of the Act on Registration and Evaluation of Chemical Substances (hereinafter referred to as "the Act"), it is allowed to waive some of the data required for chemical registration under Article 10 of the Act, the Ministry of Environment requests to submit the reason of waiving and the evidence data under Article 5 of the Enforcement Rule of the Act.  However, at present, the MoE requests the submission of the evidence data even when it is possible to justify waiving some data based on the hazard evaluation results of overseas governments, etc. Therefore, this partial amendment aims to specify the cases in which the submission of evidence data is not required. 

Companies in South Korea that manufacture or import 10 to 100 tonnes of chemicals per year are required to submit their Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDSs) to the MSDS portal before the grace period e...

Companies in South Korea that manufacture or import 10 to 100 tonnes of chemicals per year are required to submit their Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDSs) to the MSDS portal before the grace period ends on January 16, 2024. 

This mandatory submission is part of the country’s efforts to ensure the safety and health of workers handling these chemicals. The MSDS provides detailed information on the physical and chemical properties of these substances, including potential hazards and instructions for safe handling. 

In cases where the MSDS contains trade secrets, workplaces must undergo a non-disclosure approval review with the Occupational Safety and Health Agency (OSHA). This process allows for alternative names and content to be entered, protecting proprietary information while still ensuring safety compliance. 

Failure to meet this deadline could result in penalties, so companies are encouraged to start preparing their MSDS submissions as soon as possible. 

Grace periods for submitting MSDSs 

From 16 January 2021, Korean authorities require manufacturers, importers, or Only Representatives (ORs) appointed by non-Korean manufacturers to submit an MSDS before manufacturing or importing chemical substances. The MSDS must be submitted in Korean Language and follow the fourth revision of the UN GHS. If a chemical substance has been placed on the Korean market and an MSDS has been prepared before 16 January 2021, there are grace periods for submitting MSDSs based on the tonnage bands as listed in the table below. The grace periods for the tonnage bands above 1000 tonnes per annum (TPA) and 100-1000 TPA have expired.  

The Ministry of Employment and Labor (MoEL) announced the results of the "Monitoring of the Implementation Status of Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS) in 2023" (220 locations, from July 10 to August 3...

The Ministry of Employment and Labor (MoEL) announced the results of the "Monitoring of the Implementation Status of Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS) in 2023" (220 locations, from July 10 to August 31) for chemical handling sites.  

A total of 223 violations of the system were discovered at nearly half of the monitored workplaces (97 locations, 44%) including the following:  

• No warning signs (46 sites, 85 cases) 

• No material safety and health data education (31 sites, 33 cases) 

• No material safety and health data posted (21 sites, 37 cases)  

Compared to the 2022 monitoring results, the posting of material safety and health data newly introduced in 2021 decreased compared to the previous year, while posting warning signs and conducting worker education was still insufficient. 

In addition to the Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS) system, 33 workplaces (36 cases) were found to have inadequate measures to protect the health of workers, such as failing to conduct special health checkups, which are the employer’s obligation to take safety and health measures or failing to install local exhaust ventilation systems to remove harmful substances in the workplace. Violations were subjected to legal action (4 cases) and fines (254 cases, KRW 185 million), and immediate corrective action was taken.   

Choi Tae-ho, Supervisory Policy Officer of the Industrial Accident Prevention, said, "A basic business owner must faithfully prepare, submit and post material safety data sheets and clarify warning signs on containers". He further emphasized, "It is also a key point to prevent accidents to fully educate workers about the dangers, hazards, and handling of chemicals before work."  

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 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 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.