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South Korea’s National Assembly finished the final review of the amendments to the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA) on Dec 27th, 2018. The bill was signed into law on Jan 15th, 2019 as Law No. 16272. The Act was overhauled to include 175 articles, while the current version only has 72 articles. The major amendments include:
expanding the coverage of K-OSHA
granting workers the right to terminate labor contract
preventing risks in the gold-plating industry
preparing and submitting safety data sheets (SDS)
increasing penalties for breaches of K-OSHA
Korea has fully implemented GHS for both substances and mixtures since 1 July 2013. Currently, the chemical name and content corresponding to hazard classification standards should be indicated on SDS, while other components do not require mandatory disclosure on SDS. The SDS will be provided to recipients when transferring or supplying chemicals.
A major amendment to the OSHA requires the submission of SDS to the Ministry of Employment and Labour (MoEL) within 5 years after the amendment is implemented. In the future, manufacturers or importers will be obliged to prepare SDS and provide it to not only the recipients but also the MoEL. For mixtures, the name and content information of components that do not fall under the hazard classification criteria should be also reported to the MoEL if they haven’t been listed on SDS. The concrete requirements will be stipulated in OSHA’s subordinate statutes.
The requirement is newly introduced in the hope of preventing chemical accidents and ensuring quick emergency response. However, the industry may not welcome such changes. One criticism leveled at authorities by industry is that the component information submitted cannot be verified by MoEL, making this new requirement arbitrary while imposing an unwanted burden on manufacturers or importers to update and submit existing SDSs.
In addition, the new OSHA requirements allow manufacturers and importers to claim confidential business information (CBI) protection with an alternative name and content range. However, approval from the MoEL is a prerequisite. The CBI protection will be valid for 5 years (firstly proposed as 3 years in Feb. 2018) and extension application for another 5 years is allowed every time before expiration. The inapplicable scope for confidentiality protection will be stipulated in subordinate statutes, and will include substances classified as highly hazardous to human health and the environment.
The work capacity of MoEL is also something to consider and industry is questioning their ability to handle the increased work volume precipitated by the submission of thousands of SDS and CBI applications after the new requirements are implemented. For those unwilling to report the MoEL detailed information on components, they may consider leaving South Korea.
Overseas manufacturers can appoint a domestic only representative (OR) to comply with the new requirements. SDS compilation service providers will also be subject to new qualification requirements and the appointment and dismissal of an OR shall be reported to the MoEL.
The amendments to OSHA will be implemented in stages. The new SDS rules introduced above will come into force two years after promulgation. Transitional measures will be implemented to buffer industry and offset the negative influence of the new requirements.
Under current regulations, the punishment for incidents involving human fatalities associated with breaches of safety and healthcare measures are: up to a 7-year jail sentence and/or a fine of 100 million Korean won. After revision, if the employer offends again within five years, the punishment will be dramatically increased by 1.5 times the previous level. It will be implemented one year after promulgation.
