Korea to exclude two substances from the list of “biocidal substances that can be used”

On December 22, 2021, South Korea Ministry of Environment disclosed a proposed amendment to the Designation of, and Safety and Labeling Standards for, Consumer Chemical Products Subject to Safety Verification. The proposal provides for the exclusion of two substances (tetraacetylethylenediamine and DMDM hydantoin) that have been designated as existing biocidal substances subject to grace period for approval. In South Korea, based on the Consumer Chemical Products and Biocides Safety Act, which is a superordinate law to the proposed amendment, it is mandatory to obtain approval from the Ministry of Environment when manufacturing or importing biocidal substances. However, for existing biocidal substances, there is a provision regarding grace period for approval based on Article 18 of the Act.

Article 18 (grace period for approval for existing biocidal substances)

Those who manufacture or import existing biocidal substances (biocidal substances contained in biocidal products or biocidal treated products which had been distributed domestically before December 31, 2018) may manufacture or import existing biocidal substances without approval during the grace period for approval if the substances are designated as “existing biocidal substances subject to grace period for approval” upon declaration to the Ministry of Environment.

The main contents of the proposed amendment are as follows.

• Two substances (tetraacetylethylenediamine and DMDM hydantoin), which are ingredients that can currently be used for biocidal products such as fungicides and repellents, will be removed from the list of “existing biocidal substances subject to grace period for approval” (revision of Annex 2).
• Currently, it is stipulated that biocidal products declared before July 30, 2021 that use substances excluded from the list of ingredients that can be used shall be subject to hazard assessment from January 1, 2022, but this will be postponed by one year to January 1, 2023 (revision of Article 5 of the supplementary provisions).

The proposed amendment has not been officially finalized and promulgated as of January 18, 2022.

The original text of the proposed amendment can be viewed at the following URL (in Korean).
https://www.epeople.go.kr/cmmn/idea/redirect.do?ideaRegNo=1AE-2112-0001410