South Korea amends regulations to treat saline wastewater from secondary battery industry

On March 20, 2025, South Korea’s Ministry of Environment (MOE) promulgated and enforced a partial amendment to the Enforcement Rules of the Water Environment Conservation Act (hereinafter “the Act”). The purpose of the amendment is to enhance the predictability of ecotoxicity standards for wastewater, which must be met by those who install and operate wastewater treatment facilities discharging into public waters. Specifically, even if discharges exceed water quality standards, they may now be considered compliant if it is certified that the exceedance is due to ecotoxicity caused by certain saline constituents. In addition, as clarified in the amended Rules, applications for this certification may be submitted even during commissioning, i.e., prior to the completion of facility construction.