Korea suspends application of Chemicals Control Act to consumer chemical products 
South Korea Ministry of Environment announced that, effective February 14, 2022, the products that require safety management under Consumer Chemical Products and Biocides Safety Act (hereinafter referred to as K-BPR) (“consumer chemical products subject to safety verification” and “approved biocides (limited to products for daily use only)” as defined by K-BPR) will be exempted from labeling requirements for the handling of hazardous chemicals (labeling locations: storage facilities, display/storage areas, transport vehicles, containers/packaging, and handling sites) under Chemicals Control Act (hereinafter referred to as the CCA). As a result, administrative penalties such as improvement orders and business suspension orders will be suspended for the time being until the law is revised. At the same time, South Korean National Diet is deliberating on amending the law to exempt consumer chemical products that are safely controlled by K-BPR from the application of the CCA in order to eliminate regulatory duplication.
This new measurement suspends the application of display requirements for the handling of hazardous chemicals under the CCA to supermarkets, pharmacies, and delivery companies that store and sell individually packaged finished consumer chemical products with low risk of accidents during the handling process. However, establishments including manufacturing facilities that handle highly concentrated raw materials, which require through prevention of chemical accidents, shall still comply with the obligations stipulated in the CCA.
In cases where the main ingredient of a consumer chemical product is designated as a toxic substance under the Act on Registration, Evaluation, etc. of Chemicals, supermarkets, pharmacies, and delivery companies that store or sell such consumer chemical product are required to manage the product in accordance with the CCA. To date, among the obligations under the CCA, obligations such as handling standards, standards for handling facilities, wearing of personal protective equipment, and acquisition of business licenses have been exempted through amendments to subordinate laws and regulations. However, since the display requirements for the handling of hazardous chemicals still exists, the administrative penalties under the CCA will be suspended for consumer chemical products subject to safety verification as specified in Article 3, Item 4 of the K-BPR and biocides (limited to products for daily use only) approved under Article 20 of the K-BPR, until the law is revised. The Ministry of Environment has been promoting amendments to the CCA and subordinate laws and regulations to eliminate regulatory duplication and has exempted obligations including standards for handling facilities and wearing of personal protective equipment through amendments to the enforcement regulations but display for the handling of hazardous chemicals has remained mandatory.
Once the main ingredient of a consumer chemical product is designated as a toxic substance, not only the establishment that manufactures the product but also large retail stores (supermarkets), pharmacies, and delivery companies that store or sell such product are subject to the CCA and regulations such as handling standards and labeling standards must be observed. However, in the case of consumer chemical products such as solid insect repellent, which are used by the public on a daily basis and distributed and sold as individually packaged finished products, the risk of accidents occurring during the handling process is low, and nevertheless they are also subject to safety management such as precautions and labeling standards under K-BPR, resulting in regulatory duplication.
- The Consumer Chemical Products and Biocides Safety Act (Act No. 18170)
https://www.law.go.kr/LSW/lsInfoP.do?efYd=20211231&lsiSeq=232191#0000 - The Chemicals Control Act (Act No. 18420)
https://www.law.go.kr/LSW/lsInfoP.do?efYd=20220218&lsiSeq=234709#0000
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