672 Substances Designated for Priority Management under Korea REACH

Two lists of 672 substances subject to priority management under K-REACH were issued. Notification of products containing the priority management substance is required if the quantity is above 1t/y and the content exceeds 0.1% w/w The first list will be implemented from July 2019 while the second list will be adopted two years thereafter.

South Korea's MoE published two lists of “substances subject to priority management” under K-REACH on 28 Dec 2018 by MoE Announcement No.2018-233. The two lists contain 672 substances, including

The first list of 204 substances, effective from 1 Jul 2019; and
The second list of 468 substances, effective from 1 Jul 2021.

The whole list is accessible here.

Compared to the draft lists (1195 substances in total) proposed in October of 2018 (CL news), 523 substances were deleted from the final list. In addition, some substances proposed in the first list were transferred to the second list to alleviate industry burden. The substances listed on the first list require urgent control from 1 Jul 2019, while the second list will be adopted two years thereafter.

According to the revised K-REACH (effective on 1 Jan 2019), the following substances would be designated as “substances subject to priority management”:

CMR substances (carcinogenic, mutagenic or reproductive toxic);
EDC substances (endocrine-disrupting chemicals);
PBT substances (persistent, bioaccumulative and toxic);
STOT substances (substances of specific target organ toxicity); or
others (e.g. EU SVHC, the substances of very high concern for authorization under EU REACH)

Manufacturers or importers have legal obligations to notify the authority on the substance name, use, content, hazards, simple exposure information, etc. if their products containing a priority management substance with the quantity above 1t/y and the content exceeding 0.1% w/w. However, the notification is not required if the substance has been registered under K-REACH.