Korea to newly add 54 chemical substances as intensively controlled substances 
On January 28, 2022, South Korea Ministry of Environment announced that it had published a draft amendment to the Designation of Substances Subject to Intensive Control to add 54 chemical substances as substances subject to intensive control prescribed under the Act on Registration, Evaluation, etc. of Chemicals (K-REACH). The Ministry of Environment explained that it newly designated 54 chemical substances that have been confirmed as hazardous by foreign governments or international organizations and that also fall under the standards for substances subject to intensive control provided in Annex 1-2 of the Presidential Decree on the K-REACH. In addition, the Ministry also stated that the substances subject to intensive control, which are currently managed separately in Annex 1 and Annex 2, will be combined, and managed in Annex 1.
54 chemical substances are newly added as substances subject to intensive control
54 chemical substances, including pentachloronitrobenzene and phenanthrene, are added to Annex 1 of the proposed amendment as substances subject to intensive control (No. 646 to No. 699). For some of these chemicals, more detailed substance inventory is defined, and including these, a total of 162 chemicals are newly designated.
Lists of substances subject to intensive control will be integrated
Currently, under the Designation of Substances Subject to Intensive Control, substances subject to intensive control are classified into two categories based on the timing of application (Annex 1: substances enforced from July 1, 2019 and Annex 2: substances enforced from July 1, 2021).The proposed amendment integrates these substances into Annex 1, and deletes four chemical substances, including prohibited substances, from the list, which were previously specified in Annex 2.
The proposed amendment can be viewed at the following URL (in Korean).
https://www.epeople.go.kr/cmmn/idea/redirect.do?ideaRegNo=1AE-2201-0001454
Designation of Substances Subject to Intensive Control (Ministry of Environment Notification No. 2018-233):
https://www.law.go.kr/admRulLsInfoP.do?admRulSeq=2100000174533
