South Korea Implements Major Revisions to K-REACH and CCA

By Youngsoo Park, Senior Regulatory Specialist, Supply Chain Team, UL Solutions

On August 7, 2025, the Ministry of Environment (MOE) implemented the revisions to K-REACH and the Chemical Control Act (CCA) to redefine the categories of Toxic substances as follows:

1. Substances acutely hazardous to human health (Acute Toxic Substances for Human Health)
2. Substances chronically hazardous to human health (Chronic Toxic Substances for Human Health)
3. Substances hazardous to the environment (Ecological Toxic Substances)

Additionally, the classification of Hazardous substances has been reorganized under the CCA as follows:

1. Substances acutely hazardous to human health (Acute Toxic Substances for Human Health)
2. Substances chronically hazardous to human health (Chronic Toxic Substances for Human Health)
3. Substances hazardous to the environment (Ecological Toxic Substances)
4. Substances requiring preparation for an accident (Accident Preparation Chemicals)

This reclassification enables a more risk-based approach to business licensing and reporting. The new system is now organized based on the level of risk and the volume of hazardous substances handled, thereby promoting more efficient and rational workplace management. In addition, inspection schedules and safety management cycles are now differentiated based on risk levels, and incentives are provided to workplaces that demonstrate excellence in safety practices.

As of January 1, 2025, the scope of notification of New chemical substance has been expanded from less than 100 kg to less than 1 tonne. Therefore, to review the appropriateness of the notification data, additional evidence of labelling and classification is now required. Also, the term “Substances with Unknown Hazardous Properties” is newly introduced, making it mandatory to determine whether the notified new chemical substance falls under this category and submit supporting documentation accordingly. The definition of Substances with Unknown Hazardous Properties under K-REACH is as follows:

• 10.3. “Substance with unknown hazardous properties” means a substance that has been registered or reported to the Minister of Environment in accordance with Article 10, but for reasons such as the absence of data related to hazards, it is difficult to confirm the hazards of the chemical substance, and which meets the standards prescribed by the Ordinance of the Ministry of Environment.

Accordingly, the Ministry of Employment and Labor (MOEL) revised the Standards for Classification and Labeling of Chemical Substances and Material Safety Data Sheets, updating the MOEL Public Notice 2023-9 to 2025-50, which will take effect on August 7, 2025.

The official Korea MSDS template has been revised, especially in Section 15, to align with K-REACH requirements. According to the guidelines from the Korea Occupational Safety and Health Agency (KOSHA), when authoring MSDS for a product containing Substances with Unknown Hazardous Properties, the substance name, unknown items, handling precautions must be written under the heading “C. Act on Registration and Evaluation of Chemical Substances.”

Until the end of the grace period (June 30, 2026), the old MSDS template may still be used. In this case, the legal regulatory status related to K-REACH (Act on Registration and Evaluation of Chemical Substances) must be written under the heading "E. Other regulations by domestic and foreign laws” (ex. Substances with Unknown Hazardous Properties - Substances name, Unknown items, Handling precautions).

References

Act on the Registration and Evaluation of Chemical Substances, referred to as K-REACH (Act No. 20232) (only available in Korean)

Chemical Control Act, referred to as CCA (Act No. 20231) (only available in Korean)

Standards for Classification and Labeling of Chemical Substances and Material Safety Data Sheets (only available in Korean)

Guidelines from the Korea Occupational Safety and Health Agency (KOSHA) (only available in Korean)