South Korea planning to newly designate 11 chemicals as toxic substances

On May 30, 2024, the National Institute of Chemical Safety (NICS), an institution operating under the Ministry of Environment of South Korea, announced that it will newly designate 11 chemical substances identified as highly hazardous substances that need to be regulated, as toxic substances, from among chemical substances that had undergone the hazard assessment under the Act on Registration, Evaluation, etc. of Chemicals (as known as “K-REACH”).

To implement the designation, the NICS proposed amended versions of the Notice on the Designation of Toxic Substances and the Regulation on Classification and Labeling of Chemicals (GHS Regulation), inviting opinions from the public through to June 19, 2024. Under the proposed rules, it would be mandated, in relation to the 11 newly designated toxic substances, to make a declaration when importing them, to obtain business licenses for treating them, and to attach labels pursuant to GHS upon its enactment.

The proposed amendments designate the following substances as toxic ones.