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Update：The proposed updates have been approved on August 12, 2021 by MoE Announcement 2021-160. In addition to the three broad categories listed below, the authority also publsihed a list of other substances (Annex 3 of the announcement) that shall be regarded as existing chemicals.
On March 2, 2021, South Korea’s Ministry of Environment opened a public consultation on the expanded definition of existing chemical substances in South Korea.
According to the draft, three broad categories of chemical substances can also be regarded as existing chemical substances, including:
hydrates or anhydrides of an existing substance;
a reaction product consisting of two or more existing substances, which cannot be separated by technical means and is circulated as a whole in South Korea; and
isomers of an existing substance, except for specific isomers published by the authority
The Korea Existing Chemicals Inventory (KECI) currently contains:
Annex 1 of 37,104 chemical substances domestically circulated in South Korea prior to February 2, 1991; and
Annex 2 of 7,383 chemical substances published by MoE after hazard evaluation under TCCA (replaced by K-REACH and CCA in 2015) after February 2, 1991.
A clear definition of “existing chemical substances” is fundamental in determining the legal obligations to comply with. If this draft is approved, many isomers or reaction products will be categorized as existing chemical and therefore not subject to new chemical registration.
MoE will review the appropriateness of the definition of existing chemical substances and make improvements every three years counting from July 1, 2020.
