South Korea Announces 42 New Chemicals Registered and Assessed under OSHA

On December 30, 2025, South Korea's Ministry of Employment and Labor (MoEL) announced the hazard and risk assessment results for 42 new chemical substances manufactured or imported during the first quarter of 2026. The announcement highlighted that 15 of these new chemical substances registered under K-OSHA pose significant health and safety hazards, prompting the issuance of mandatory workplace safety measures to protect industry workers.

The publication of these findings is part of MoEL's ongoing mandate under the Occupational Safety and Health Act (K-OSHA) to investigate chemical hazards preemptively. The recent disclosure details the names of the 42 substances, their specific hazard classifications, and the required preventive actions for workplaces. Specifically, 15 substances, including 'Palmitoyl chloride' and 'Citraconic anhydride', were confirmed to pose hazards such as acute toxicity, skin corrosion, severe eye damage, and explosivity. The hazards are determined in accordance with the revised Standards for Classification and Labeling of Chemical Substances and Material Safety Data Sheet, based on the toxicity data submitted by registrants. Please refer to the MoEL Announcement No. 2025-486 for more details.

The hazards and risks should be indicated on MSDS and displayed in the workplace. For some new substances, although there are no hazards indicated in the list, in consideration of long or short-term exposure, employers still need to provide basic measures to protect workers’ health.

Background

In South Korea, companies should register new chemical substances under both K-REACH and K-OSHA before their manufacture or importation. K-REACH covers all new chemical substances regardless of quantities, while under K-OSHA, new substances < 0.1 t/y are exempt from registration. The Ministry of Climate, Energy, and Environment (MCEE) is responsible for K-REACH registration and transfers the data required under K-OSHA to the MoEL for assessment.

The MoEL and the National Institute of Chemical Safety (NICS) under the  MCEE periodically publish the list of registered new chemical substances under K-OSHA and K-REACH, respectively. The last update by the MoEL was made on September 25, 2025 (see MoEL Announcement No. 2025-334).