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South Korea’s Ministry of Environment (MoE) recently notified WTO of the draft amendments to the Enforcement Rules of the Act on Registration and Evaluation of Chemical Substances (hereinafter referred to as the “K-REACH Enforcement Rules”), announcing the proposal of adopting the exemption criteria for chemical substances manufactured by recycling wastes under K-REACH. The proposal is expected to be in force on October 10, 2024.
Background
Under EU REACH, registration obligation is exempted for chemical substances manufactured by recycling wastes if other companies have already completed the registration of the same substances. To keep pace with EU REACH, the MoE proposed updates to the K-REACH Enforcement Decree in November 2023 (CL news), and the proposed registration exemption criteria for chemical substances manufactured by recycling wastes were adopted by Ordinance No. 34689 and took effect on July 10, 2024. To align with the revised K-REACH Enforcement Decree, on July 29, 2024, the MoE opened a public consultation on the draft amendments to the K-REACH Enforcement Rules, aiming to further facilitate the exemption for chemical substances manufactured by recycling wastes. Comments are welcome before September 13, 2024. Meanwhile, the MoE notified WTO of this proposal on July 31, 2024 (see WTO Notification G/TBT/N/KOR/1220), and announced the proposed effective date (i.e., October 10, 2024).
Exemption Criteria
For chemical substances manufactured from recycling wastes, they will be exempted from chemical registration under K-REACH if they meet the following criteria:
The chemical substance must have been registered under K-REACH for at least three years;
The tonnage of the chemical substance must fall within its registered tonnage range; and
The registered chemical substance is considered an intermediate and its data submission was waived under K-REACH.
Enterprises that intend to apply for this exemption should prepare relevant information and documents to help the authority confirm the exemption criteria.
