The Ministry of Environment of Korea (MoE) published the Act on Registration and Evaluation, etc of Chemical Substances (known as K-REACH) on January 1, 2015. K-REACH aims to protect public health and the environment. This is achieved by four procedures, namely notification or registration, evaluation, authorization, and restriction of chemicals.
Under K-REACH, manufacturers or importers of a new chemical substance need to register the substances prior to manufacture or import. For substances less than 100 Kg/year, it only requires notification and does not need to go through hazard evaluation.
Manufacturers or importers of a Priority Existing Chemicals (PEC) substance need to register the substances prior to manufacture or import. Pre-registration of PEC substances is not possible as the transition period has already passed.
Existing substances above 1 Tonne Per Annum (TPA) must be registered within given grace periods. Only companies that carried out pre-notification can be entitled to the grace periods. The grace periods vary based on tonnage band. After the grace periods for each tonnage band, existing substances within that tonnage band cannot be pre-registered, and they should be registered prior to placing the substances in Korea.
Compliance advisor
Check the Regulatory requirements of your Substance in South Korea
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