The Korea Existing Chemicals List (KECL) is jointly released by the Korean Ministry of Environment and the Ministry of Employment and Labor, which includes the following substances:

1) Substances used for commercial purposes in South Korea before February 2, 1991, and was notified by the government before December 23, 1996;
2) Substances have completed toxicological assessments under the TCCA and have been notified since February 2, 1991.

The existing chemicals in South Korea will be assigned a KE Number respectively. In some special cases, a toxic substance without a KE number shall also be classified as an existing chemical.

► Chemicals not listed in the KECL are new chemical substances. Official registrations or notification is required before production/ import.

Under the K-REACH, notification is required for new chemical substances in quantities ≤ 0.1t/a, while registration based on the specified tonnage data requirements shall be completed for new chemical substances in quantities ≥ 0.1t/a.

► Substances listed in the KECL and classified as priority existing chemicals (PEC) shall complete registrations prior to its production, import and use.

► Substances listed in KECL but are classified as PEC shall complete (pre-) registrations prior to its production, import and use.

► Companies that have completed registration shall provide hazard information to the downstream users, including Form 25 and Form 26.

Click here to search for the details:
https://www.cirs-group.com/en/chemicals/k-reach-registration

Regulations and standards

► The Act on Registration, Evaluation, etc. of Chemicals was amended on January. 1, 2019.

Regulatory authorities

► Korean Ministry of Environment (MOE)

Exemptions

The following substances are exempted:

1. Radioactive materials defined in Article 2, subparagraph 5 of the Nuclear Safety Act;
2. Medicinal and quasi-drugs defined in Article 2, subparagraph 4 and subparagraph 7 of the Pharmaceutical Affairs Act;
3. Narcotics defined in the Narcotics Control Act;
4. Cosmetics and raw materials used for cosmetics defined in the Cosmetics Act;
5. Pesticides and active ingredients defined in Article 2, subparagraph 1 and subparagraph 3 of the Pesticide Control Act;
6. Fertilizers defined in Article 2, subparagraph 1 of the Fertilizer Control Act;
7. Foods, food additives, apparatus and containers defined in Article 2, subparagraph 1, 2, 4 and 5 of the Food Sanitation Act;
8. Feed defined in Article 2, subparagraph 1 of the Control of Livestock and Fish Feed Act;
9. Explosives defined in Article 2, subparagraph 3 of the Act on Control of Guns, Swords, and Explosives;
10. Munitions defined in Article 2 of the Act on the Management of Military Supplies and Article 3, subparagraph 2 of the Defense Acquisition Program Act (excluding ordinary commodities prescribed in Article 3 of the Act on the Management of Military Supplies);
11. Health functional foods defined in Article 3, subparagraph 1 of the Health Functional Foods Act;
12. Medical devices defined in Article 2, subparagraph 1 of the Medical Devices Act;
13. Hygiene products defined in Article 2, subparagraph 1 of the Hygiene Products Control Act;
14. Biocidal substances and biocidal products defined in Article 3, subparagraphs 7 and 8 of the Act on Safety Control of Consumer Chemical Products and Biocides;
15. Raw materials for organic agricultural and fishery products.

How to obtain the list?

1. Click here to search for the latest inventory
2. Search on the official website: https://ncis.nier.go.kr/en/main.do
3. Contact CIRS Group to purchase the latest version (in Excel)

Our services

• K-REACH Only Representative
• K-REACH Pre-registration
• K-REACH Registration
• General consultancy and training
• New Substance Inquiry
• MOE Registration Exemption Application
• Risk assessment report
• Review and translation of Test monitoring and research reports
• Preparation of Korean SDS and label
• Regulatory update monitoring
• New substance registration under KOSHA
• Korean Designated Laboratory or GLP Laboratory Test Project Commissioning

If you have any questions, please contact us at chemicals@cirs-group.com.