On September 2, 2026, the National Institute of Chemical Safety (NICS) of South Korea, affiliated with the Ministry of Climate, Energy and Environment (MCEE), issued the Notice on the Partial Revision of the Hazard Review Results of Chemical Substances (Notice No. 2026-15), adding the hazard review results of 78 existing chemical substances and newly establishing the attached table of hazard assessment results. The revision takes effect from the date of issue.
Background of the Notice
The notice is issued under Article 21 of the Act on Registration and Evaluation of Chemical Substances (K-REACH) and Article 28 of its Enforcement Rule, and revises the current Hazard Review Results of Chemical Substances (Notice No. 2026-9, issued on May 21, 2026). Earlier, on July 10, 2026, NICS had conducted an advance public notice on the draft revision through Notice No. 2026-66.
Key Contents of the Revision
The revision covers both the hazard review results and the hazard assessment results, including the following:
- Adding the review results of 78 existing chemical substances: Unique numbers 2026-771 through 2026-848; 43 of them are determined to be hazardous substances to humans, etc., comprising 13 human acute hazard substances, 14 human chronic hazard substances, and 16 ecological hazard substances (5 substances are simultaneously determined as both human acute and human chronic, or as both human acute and ecological hazard substances, and are counted under the respective categories); the remaining 35 are not determined to be hazardous substances;
- Revising the review results of 6 existing chemical substances: Among them, bis(2-ethylhexyl) maleate (CAS 142-16-5) and C12-14 fatty alcohols (CAS 80206-82-2) are newly determined to be ecological hazard substances;
- Revising the review results of 6 new chemical substances: All 6 substances are determined to be human acute hazard substances;
- Newly establishing the attached table of hazard assessment results: Based on Article 19 of K-REACH, a new attached table "Hazard Assessment Results" (Attached Table 2) is established, covering 6 chemical substances that have completed hazard assessment (unique numbers 2026-1 through 2026-6), all determined to be human acute hazard substances, including (S)-6-methylnicotine (CAS 13270-56-9), 2-amino-4-methylpyridine (CAS 695-34-1) and 4-butylphenol (CAS 1638-22-8).
The substances determined to be hazardous this time include lithium (CAS 7439-93-3), morpholine (CAS 110-91-8), triethylaluminium (CAS 97-93-8), copper(II) chloride (CAS 7447-39-4), pyrene (CAS 129-00-0) and N-methylolacrylamide (CAS 924-42-5), which are commonly used in industry. According to the attached tables of the notice, chemical substances determined to be hazardous must complete classification and labelling in accordance with the GHS, and their business activities must comply with relevant provisions such as the business permit requirements for hazardous chemicals under the Chemical Control Act.
ChemRadar Insights
For trading and manufacturing enterprises dealing in the relevant substances for the Korean market, the following items deserve attention:
- Check the substances used: If the substances involved in chemicals and formulations exported to Korea fall within the scope of the 78 newly added ones, enterprises should confirm the importation status of these substances with their Korean partners as early as possible and assess the impact of the hazard determination on import, notification, and labelling;
- Track the designation of hazardous substances: Most of the substances determined this time are marked "to be designated", and NICS will specify them separately through the notice on the designation of hazardous substances; the enterprises concerned should continue to follow the subsequent designation list;
- Watch the attached table of assessment results: The newly established attached table of hazard assessment results (Attached Table 2) will apply in parallel with the attached table of hazard review results; enterprises whose business involves the assessed chemical substances also need to verify their compliance obligations.
