South Korea officially promulgated the revised list of regulated POPs and specific exemption provisions reflecting COP-11 decisions 
On April 29, 2026, South Korea’s Ministry of Climate, Energy and Environment (MCEE) officially promulgated the revised Regulations on Types of Persistent Organic Pollutants and Specific Exemptions through MCEE Notice No. 2026-107, with immediate effect on the same day. The amendment incorporates the decisions adopted at the eleventh meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP-11) to the Stockholm Convention into domestic legislation and was officially promulgated without substantive changes from the draft amendment released for public comment last month (MCEE Public Notice No. 2026-278). While there are no major substantive changes, the expiration dates of specific exemptions applicable to newly regulated substances, which had remained provisional at the stage of the preliminary administrative notice, have now been finalized.
1. Addition of newly regulated substances (Appendix 1) and applicable schedule
Under the official promulgation, the following three substances have been newly added to the list of regulated persistent organic pollutants (POPs) (Appendix 1). In principle, this Notice entered into force on the promulgation date (April 29, 2026); however, these three substances will become applicable from July 27, 2026, the date on which the amendments to Annex A to the Stockholm Convention take effect for South Korea.
- Methoxychlor:
Listed under identification number 2023-32 in Appendix 1. No specific exemption applies. - Dechlorane Plus:
Listed under identification number 2023-33 in Appendix 1. Certain uses are subject to time-limited specific exemptions. - UV-328:
Listed under identification number 2023-34 in Appendix 1. Certain uses are subject to time-limited specific exemptions.
2. Finalization of expiration dates for specific exemption applications (Appendix 2)
Under this promulgation, specific deadlines (i.e., expiry dates for exemptions) have been finalized for specific exemptions, i.e., applications for which manufacture, import, export, or use is exceptionally permitted. For the newly added Dechlorane Plus and UV-328, the specific exemption will apply for five years from the date the Convention amendments enter into force (July 27, 2026), and the expiration date has been finalized as July 27, 2031. In all other respects, the content remains unchanged from last month’s draft amendment.
Finalized specific exemption periods for Dechlorane Plus and UV-328
| No. | Chemical | Activity | Specific exemption | Exemption expiration date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023-33 | Dechlorane Plus | Production | None | July 27, 2031 |
| Use | · Aerospace sector
· Space and defense sector · Medical imaging devices and radiotherapy devices and installations · Replacement parts for, and repairs of, articles in application in accordance with paragraphs 2 and 3 of Part XI of the Annex to the Stockholm Convention |
|||
| 2023-34 | UV-328 | Production | None | |
| Use | · Parts of motor vehicles (covering all land-based vehicles, such as cars, motorcycles, agricultural and construction vehicles and industrial trucks), such as bumper systems, radiator grills, spoilers, car garnish, roof modules, soft/hard tops, trunk lids and rear window wipers
· Industrial coating applications for motor vehicles, engineering machines, rail transportation vehicles, and heavy-duty coatings for large steel structures · Mechanical separators in blood collection tubes · Triacetyl cellulose (TAC) film in polarizers · Photographic paper |
July 27, 2031 | ||
| Replacement parts for articles in applications in accordance with paragraphs 2 and 3 of Part XII of the Annex | ||||
The original text of the regulation is available at the link below:
https://www.law.go.kr/LSW/admRulLsInfoP.do?admRulSeq=2100000278244#AJAX
