South Korea to regulate existing toxic substances under new three-tier classification

On January 24, 2025, the Ministry of Environment (MOE) of South Korea announced a draft Enforcement Order and draft Enforcement Rules of the Act on Registration, Evaluation, etc. of Chemicals (hereinafter "Chemical Evaluation Act" or “K-REACH act”) soliciting public comments through to March 25, 2025. The MOE intends to start regulating “toxic substances" as defined in the Chemical Evaluation Act by classifying them into three categories: substances with acute toxicity for human body, substances with chronic toxicity for human body, and biohazardous substances, beginning on August 7, 2025.