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On August 16, 2022, South Korea's online chemical management system (CHEMP) published a notice1 to remind stakeholders that the approval grace period of existing active substances (AS)* used for 5 types of biocidal products (BP)** in Group A is coming to an end on December 31, 2022. If relevant manufacturers/importers fail in obtaining the AS Approval before the deadline, the manufacture and import of such AS and the BP containing them will be prohibited in South Korea.
*There are 452 substances designated as existing AS. The list (updated on June 15, 2022) contains AS information including chemical name, CAS number, the allowed BP types covered under the approval, and the corresponding deadlines for approval. Click here2 to learn more.
** The 5 types of BP are disinfectants, algaecides, rodenticides, insecticides and repellents.
Under K-BPR3, the existing AS are classified into four groups with a corresponding deadline for AS Approval (see table below).
Table - Existing Active Substances and Grace Period
| Group | Group A | Group B | Group C | Group D |
| Grace Period | Dec 31, 2022 | Dec 31, 2024 | Dec 31, 2027 | Dec 31, 2029 |
| ProductTypes
| PT1. Disinfectants PT2. Algaecides PT3. Rodenticides PT5. Insecticides PT7. Repellents | PT4. Control of other vertebrates PT6. Control of other vertebrates PT11. Wood preservatives | PT8. Preservatives for products PT9. Film preservatives PT10. Fiber and leather preservatives | PT12. Construction material preservatives PT13. Material and equipment preservatives PT14. Embalming and taxidermist fluids PT15. Antifouling products |
As per Status Quo of Approval of Biocidal Active Substances4 is attached to the CHEMP's notice, the authority has received applications for approval of 121 AS (grace period expires on December 31, 2022), more specifically:
60 AS are under the evaluation draft review and 4 AS are under the completeness check, and the results will be made public by the end of December 2022;
The applications for approval of 57 AS have been rejected due to unqualified data submission or voluntarily withdrawn by the enterprises.
If enterprises intend to manufacture or import BP containing AS, the corresponding AS Approval and the BP Approval must be obtained. What's more, the AS Approval is the prerequisite for applying the BP Approval. Considering the fact that the review period for AS Approval or BP Approval may cost 15 months or longer, enterprises are recommended to apply for the corresponding AS Approval and BP Approval in time. Deadlines for the approval of BP in Group A are set as below:
For BP containing approved AS, the BP Approval shall be obtained by December 31, 2024;
For BP containing disapproved AS, the AS Approval shall be applied for and obtained before January of 2023 first; the BP Approval shall be applied for within 2023 and be obtained before December 31, 2024.
To aid in the timely preparation of documentation and data, a guide (in Korean) is provided for enterprises by the authority as well, see Guide on Application for BP Approval5.
