South Korea issued Notice No. 2024-213, announcing a proposal to revise the Designation of Consumer Chemical Products Subject to Safety Verification, and Safety and Labeling Standards Thereof and is requesting public comments.

To promote K-REACH registration and alleviate the pressure on registering companies, the South Korean government has introduced a series of government support programs.

In order to promote K-REACH registration and reduce the registration cost for small and medium-sized enterprises in South Korea, South Korea's government announced the registration whole process support program (the fifth time) in March 2024.

South Korea is to revise its Act on the Registration and Evaluation of Chemical Substances (known as K-REACH). The amendments were approved by South Korea's National Assembly on January 9, 2024. Major changes cover: 1. The tonnage of new chemical substances notification is adjusted from "below 0.1t/y" to "below 1t/y"; 2. Disclose the notification information of new chemical substances below 1tpa. For CBI substances, the generic names should be disclosed; and 3. New chemical substances below 1t/y will be reviewed.

On October 17, 2023, the Ministry of Employment and Labor in South Korea released the results of its compliance supervision on MSDS to date. It has investigated about 220 workplaces involved in the handling of chemicals, including those for manufacturers and importers of chemical substances, as well as toxic substance processing companies, between July 10 and August 31, 2023.

On October 4, 2023, in accordance with the Act on the Registration and Evaluation of Chemicals, the National Institute of Environmental Research in Korea released Notice No. 2023-460 on revision of Classification and Labeling Regulations for Chemical Substances.

On October 4, 2023, the National Institute of Environmental Research (NIER) in South Korea published Notice No. 2023-459 on the revision of the Designated Toxic Substances, to strengthen the administration of toxic substances.

On August 10, 2023, the South Korean Ministry of Environment (MOE) published Notice No.2023-183 revising the volume of toxic, restricted, prohibited, and permitted substances in accordance with the Regulations on the Implementation of the Chemical Substance Management Act. The revision this time aims to enhance the management of chemicals and safeguard public health and the environment.

In order to further improve certain shortcomings in the existing system, on August 25, 2023, the South Korean Ministry of Environment published Notice No. 2023-502 partially revising the Implementation Regulations of the Act on the Registration and Evaluation of Chemical Substances. This revision will come into effect on January 4, 2024.

On July 21, 2023, the South Korean Ministry of Environment published Notice No. 2023-436 to partly revise the enforcement rules of the Chemical Substances Control Act. This revision primarily aims to address challenges faced by hazardous chemical operators with less than 30 employees in attracting professional talents and to improve shortcomings in the existing system.