Korean-REACH
Over recent decades, the disregard for safety and chemical control regulations in South Korea has led to numerous serious chemical accidents. For this reason, the existing chemical law TCCA (Toxic Chemical Control Act), introduced in 1991, has been revised and updated to bring it in line with current standards.
The South Korean Parliament has introduced the Act on the Registration and Evaluation of Chemicals (ARECs), also known as Korean-REACH (K-REACH), in 2015. As of 1 January 2019, the revision of K-REACH has entered into force to ensure greater protection of health and the environment in Korea.
Under the revised legislation, all manufacturers or importers of Existing Chemicals (also known as “Phase-in substances”) with an annual quantity of more than 1 ton are required to submit the pre-notification that will enable them to access the joint registration within the given grace-period. Similar to EU-REACH, late pre-notifications are possible, so that registrants can participate in the joint registration of their Existing Chemicals.
Joint registration: Grace-period for Existing Chemicals
| ≥ 1,000 t/a | by the end of 2021 |
| 100 – 1,000 t/a | by the end of 2024 |
| 10 – 100 t/a | by the end of 2027 |
| 1 – 10 t/a | by the end of 2030 |
Unlike Existing Chemicals, which can be exempted in case of small quantities, New Chemicals should be either notified or registered before starting business. Therefore, checking the Korean Existing Chemical Inventory is recommended to set-up a successful strategy for K-REACH registration.
Although K-REACH is based heavily on the EU-REACH Regulation in terms of registration scheme, Only Representative (OR) function and tonnage band classification, it has some unique country-specific features. Our team of Chemservice Asia has well-grounded expertise in this field and will support you in successfully placing and keeping your products on the Korean market.
Our services
- Consultation on K-REACH
- Strategic and technical support
- Only Representative (OR)
- Dossier compilation and submission
- Ensuring compliance along the entire supply chain (K-REACH-Code-Model)
- Creation of Safety Data Sheets
For the joint registration, either as lead or as member registrant, various administrative services are required to manage the activities within a CICO (K-SIEF), such as consortia management, LoA calculation, etc. Our team of Consortia Asia acts as independent secretariat and trustee and is ready to support you by granting a smooth and professional process to fulfil the registration obligations while keeping confidentiality amongst all parties.
Polymer Registrations
Unlike EU-REACH, K-REACH requires the registration of polymers themselves. Besides the massive number of joint registrations, polymer registrations impose significant challenges on global industries. The lack of existing data and the diversity of the substance identity make the registration of polymers more difficult. To reduce your burden on the polymer products, we are providing polymer-focused services with the Polymer Consortium Korea (POCKO), launched by Consortia Asia.