On July 15, 2022, South Korea’s Ministry of Environment announced by the amendment to the Designation of Restricted Substances and Prohibited Substances (MoE Announcement No. 2022-138) that the implementation of restrictions on lead will be delayed. More specifically, the grace period for implementing restrictions on manufacture, import, sale, keeping/storage, transportation, and use of lead and its mixture (above 0.009% of lead) in metal ornaments is further extended by two years.
Earlier at the end of 2021, the Designation of Restricted Substances and Prohibited Substances was revised by MoE Announcement No. 2021-295 (CL news) to update the content threshold in mixture from 0.06% to 0.009% for lead (Given No.06-5-8), and expand the restrictions to cover (1) metal ornaments and (2) coatings for all purposes except for applications in aircraft or military supplies. The new lead limit was scheduled to become effective from July 1, 2022 for manufacture and import activities, and from January 1, 2023 for sale, keeping/storage, transportation and use activities.
However, in view of the impact on businesses, the MoE has decided to delay the start date of new limit in metal ornaments to:
Restrictions on manufacture and import: effective from July 1, 2024
Restrictions on sale, keeping/storage, transportation and use: effective from January 1, 2025
For coating applications, the effective date remains the same as before.
