Recently, South Korea's Ministry of Environment announced the approval of 15 biocidal products closely related to daily life, under the Consumer Chemical Products and Biocides Safety Act (K-BPR). These products include disinfectants, algicides, rodenticides, insecticides, and repellents.

On February 6, 2024, the Ministry of Environment of South Korea issued Order No. 20232, which includes revisions to certain parts of the K-REACH regulations.The notification threshold for the production/import volume of new substances has been increased from 0.1 tonnes per year to 1 tonne per year.

The Ministry of Environment of South Korea recently submitted a notification to the World Trade Organization (WTO) regarding the revision of the Designation of Restricted Substances and Prohibited Substances. This revision aims to strengthen the restrictions on the use of lead and its compounds as well as methylene chloride and its mixtures, based on the hazard assessment under the Chemical Substances Registration and Evaluation Act and international regulatory trends, to protect human health and safety. WTO member countries can comment on this revision before January 13, 2025.

The Global Chemical Inventory Search (GCIS) developed by CIRS Group supports users in searching the latest updates to global chemical inventories by entering a CAS number or substance name in Chinese or English. It also provides obligation analysis for global chemical compliance. CIRS continuously monitors changes to global chemical inventories and regularly updates ChemRadar, to try and help users understand more about the compliance obligations of their substances.

The National Institute of Environmental Research (NIER) in South Korea recently issued Announcement No. 56 of 2024, under the Act on Registration and Evaluation, etc. of Chemical Substances. This new regulation, titled Regulations on the Preparation and Provision of Hazard Information for Chemical Substances, mandates that all enterprises submit detailed supply chain information along with risk and hazard data for chemicals under the K-REACH framework.

The Global Chemical Inventory Search (GCIS) developed by CIRS Group supports users to search the latest inventory of chemicals globally by entering CAS number or substance name in both Chinese and English. It also provides obligation analysis for global chemical compliance. CIRS continuously monitors and updates to global chemical inventories regularly, trying to help users to know more details of compliance obligations of their substances.

The simplified K-BPR amendment approval process officially took effect on September 11, 2024.

On September 26, 2024, the Ministry of Environment of South Korea issued the Notice No. 2024-612, announcing significant amendments to the designations of restricted and prohibited substances. The revisions aim to update the usage limits of certain chemicals based on the hazard assessment results under the Chemicals Registration and Evaluation Act, as well as considering related international regulations.

On September 4, 2024, the Ministry of Environment of South Korea issued Notification No. 2024-571, officially announcing a comprehensive revision of the types of persistent pollutants and specific exemption regulations. This revision aims to update and detail the specific chemical names and their CAS numbers of persistent pollutants as defined in the Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) Control Act. The revisions also include clarifications on specific exemptions and their expiration dates to ensure environmental protection and public health. Public comments are being solicited from today until September 23, 2024.

Japan Adds 164 General Chemical Substances; South Korea Releases Hazard Assessments for 91 Chemicals and Revises 27 Announced Results.