Korea’s 2025 Chemical Regulatory Overhaul: What Global Industry Needs to Know

In August 2025, South Korea finalized sweeping reforms to its chemical regulatory framework, including the Chemical Control Act (CCA), the Act on the Registration and Evaluation of Chemicals (K-REACH), and the Ministry of Employment and Labor’s (MoEL) Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS) standards. These amendments mark one of the most consequential shifts in Korea’s regulatory landscape, impacting manufacturers, importers, and downstream users alike.

Companies operating in or supplying to the Korean market must now undertake immediate compliance planning, portfolio reviews, and safety documentation updates to align with the new obligations. This article provides an expert analysis of the amendments, their implications, challenges for industry, and the areas that require close monitoring going forward.

1. Amendments to the Chemical Control Act (CCA)

On August 7, 2025, the National Institute of Chemical Safety (NICS) finalized the reclassification of toxic substances into three new hazard categories:

• Acutely Hazardous to Human Health
• Chronically Hazardous to Human Health
• Hazardous to the Environment

This action replaces the long-standing single category of “Toxic Chemicals.” The change was prompted by increasing concerns that the growing number of toxic chemicals (over 1,100 by December 2022) imposed excessive administrative burdens and overly restrictive controls on substances of relatively low hazard or common use. For example, mixtures with just 0.1% benzene were classified as toxic, subjecting a widely used substance like gasoline (0.7% benzene) to stringent protective measures. The new approach aims to achieve more nuanced and effective management by grouping substances by hazard type and severity.

Notice No. 2025-19 via Gwanbo, Korea’s official gazette, requires all toxic chemicals — with IDs from 97-1-1 to 2025-1-1280 — to be reclassified into the three new hazardous categories. Each toxic chemical substance is newly categorized based on concentration thresholds and other hazard criteria. For example, guazatine (CAS RN 13516-27-3, 108173-90-6), is now classified as acutely hazardous to humans if the mixture containing it exceeds 1% and hazardous to the environment if it exceeds 25%.

Companies should note that substances not previously listed as toxic chemicals have been newly added (e.g., IDs from 2025-1-1264 octabromodiphenyl oxide to ID 2025-1-1280 silicon tetrafluoride). Companies also can search for a substance in the new classifications of hazardous groups in the government-operated database portal system (English version site). The revision took effect August 7, 2025, with a grace period until July 1, 2026.