South Korea: New Requirements for Safety Data Sheets

The Ministry of Employment and Labor (MOEL) has updated the requirements for the classification and labeling of chemicals and for safety data sheets (SDS). The changes took effect on August 7, 2025. All safety data sheets must comply with the new requirements by July 2026.

The update of K-REACH in 2024 triggered the changes. The revision introduced new categories and terms that the MOEL has now incorporated in the OSHA and SDS guidelines.

Three Important Changes

1. The category of “toxic substances” has been subdivided into substances that are:

Acutely harmful to health
Chronically harmful to health
Ecologically hazardous

This change means that manufacturers and/or importers must provide more differentiated information in the future. This concerns the acute and chronic toxicity of the substances along with an obligation to provide information about the ecological hazards of the substances.

2. Section 15 of the SDS has been restructured and its content has been expanded. This section specifies the national laws that regulate a substance, such as K-REACH, the Chemicals Control Act (CCA), and the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA). Some of the information that manufacturers and/or importers must now indicate include whether the substance is:

Registered
Exempt from registration
Restricted or prohibited

3. A new category, “Substances with Unknown Hazards” (SUH), has been added. The affected companies must now indicate whether their substances fall into this category and provide appropriate evidence. If this is the case, they will probably have to take preventive measures for the storage, transport, and use of SUH. Importers will also have additional requirements for documentation.

Applicable Deadlines

August 7, 2025: New SDSs must be created in accordance with the updated requirements.
June 30, 2026: All SDS templates must be converted by this date.
July 1, 2026: Only SDSs based on the new template will be valid.

Anyone using obsolete formats risks fines or rejection when submitting to the MoEL-SDS system (KOSHA Portal).

Relationship of K-REACH, CCA, OSHA, and SDS

K-REACH defines the categories and provides the basis for the SDS information in sections 2, 11, 12, and 15.
CCA regulates labeling and specifies what information must be included in SDSs.
OSHA ensures occupational safety and health measures in the workplace and uses MSDSs for risk assessments, training, and safety requirements.

We are familiar with chemical legislation in South Korea. If you have any questions, please contact us at sales@kft.de.