Using our extensive regulatory and scientific expertise, Intertek can help companies comply with the pre-registration/late pre-registration of existing substances under K-REACH.

Amendment to K-REACH

On 20 March 2018, the Korean Ministry of the Environment (MoE) issued the amendment to the Act on the Registration and Evaluation of Chemicals (K-REACH), which was implemented on 01 January 2019. Within the K-REACH amendment, significant changes for existing substances were introduced.  The amendment requires companies to:

  • Register all existing substances with the potential to cause serious danger to human health or the environment
  • Register existing substances where total import or manufacture is 1 ton or above per year

Once pre-registration is completed, the potential registrant is given a grace period of registration.

Registration of existing substances:

December 31, 2021 December 31, 2024 December 31, 2027 December 31, 2030
≥ 1,000 ton / year
or
CMRs ≥ 1 ton / year
≥ 100 ton / year ≥ 10 ton / year ≥ 1 ton / year

It was anticipated that the amendment would result in the registration of approximately 7,000 existing chemicals (those listed on the former Korean Existing Chemicals Inventory; KECI) in the 12 years following implementation.

Are you ready to meet the pre-registration or late pre-registration requirements?

Manufacturers and importers were required to submit pre-registrations for existing substances between 01 January 2019 and 30 June 2019 for existing chemical substances manufactured/imported at ≥1 ton per year in order to be granted the registration grace period.

  • Provided, that companies are already manufacturing or importing the relevant existing chemical substance at ≥1 ton per year and at least one time in 2016, 2017 or 2018. 

If a company manufactures or imports an existing substance at ≥1 ton per year for the first time after 02 July 2019 in South Korea, they can apply for late pre-registration before manufacturing or importing of existing chemicals at ≥1 ton per year. Failing to meet this deadline will exclude a company from the market – act now!

We’re here to help!

Intertek is the single-source solution for compliance with the registration, testing, and documentation requirements of K-REACH.

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