Korea REACH
The South Korean Act on the Registration and Evaluation of Chemicals (known as Korea REACH or K-REACH) came into force in January 2015, followed by a significant amendment four years later, in January 2019.
The purpose of K-REACH is to protect the public health and the environment through the registration of chemical substances, screening of hazardous chemical substances, hazard- and risk assessment of products containing hazardous substances, and sharing information on chemical substances. The Korean Ministry of Environment (MoE) is responsible for the registration and evaluation of chemical substances under K-REACH.
New or existing chemical substances must be registered before they are made available on the South Korean market:
- New substances must be registered prior to manufacture or import when the quantity of the imported or manufactured substance exceeds 100kg per year.
Note: For importing or manufacturing of <100kg/y only a notification is required. - Existing chemical substances (excluding exempted substances) imported or manufactured ≥1t/y must be registered within given grace periods.
| Subtance Types | Registration Deadlines |
| 510 designated existing substances | 1 July 2018 |
| ≥1000t/y existing substances ≥1t/y CMR substances |
31 December 2021 |
| 100-1000t/y existing substances | 31 December 2024 |
| 10-100t/y existing substances | 31 December 2027 |
| 1-10t/y existing substances | 31 December 2030 |
Note: To benefit from the grace periods for existing substances, manufacturers and importers of ≥1t/y existing chemical substances should have notified the MoE in advance ("pre-notification").
Polymers are subject to registration under K REACH, being granted the same grace period as new and existing chemical substances.
Non-Korean manufacturers who export chemical substances to Korea may appoint a Korea-based Only Representative to submit registrations on their behalf.
In addition, producers and importers of products containing priority control substances need to report their products to the Ministry of Environment.
Our Service
In cooperation with our exclusive partner in South Korea, The Safe Global, we take care of your regulatory needs for the registration of chemicals under K-REACH. We are best equipped to deal with Korean IT tools (e.g. “K-REACH IT”), dossier preparation and risk assessment including intelligent testing strategies, read-across, data bridging, etc.
SCC services for South Korea:
- Overall K-REACH strategy, including intelligent testing strategies
- Portfolio analysis, data review/valuation and data gap analysis
- Study planning and monitoring
- Only Representative support
- CICO (Korean SIEF) management
- Compilation of registration dossiers, Chemical Safety assessments and Chemical Safety Reports
- Classification and labelling
- Submission and defence of registration dossiers at MoE, MoEL (Ministry of Employment and Labor), and NIER level
- Review of existing safety data sheets and extended safety data sheets (eSDS)
Contact us to learn how we can guide you through the regulatory challenges in South Korea.
