On April 24, 2026, the Chemical Accident Prevention Division of South Korea's Ministry of Employment and Labor (MoEL) released the latest revision of the Korean GHS regulation: MoEL Notice No. 2026-26, effective as of the date of publication.
Major updates:
1. Updated definition of "chemical substance"
"Chemical substance" means elements, compounds, and substances obtained through artificial reactions, as well as substances produced by chemically modifying, extracting, or refining substances that exist in a natural state.
2. Updated "chemical substances recognized and notified by the MoEL as having relatively low levels of toxicity, explosiveness, or other hazards"
Chemical substances recognized and notified by the MoEL as having relatively low levels of toxicity, explosiveness, or other hazards refer to the following substances:
- Mixtures prepared by re-mixing chemical substances or mixtures that have already been transferred or supplied; provided, however, that the following cases are excluded:
- Where the mixture is to be transferred or supplied
- Where a chemical substance whose properties have changed is generated through a chemical reaction
- Chemical substances or mixtures generated during the intermediate stages of research and development;
- Finished products for which, during their handling or use, workers are not exposed to the product itself or to the substances or mixtures contained therein that require an MSDS (excluding products containing "specially controlled substances" as defined in Article 420 (6) of the Occupational Safety and Health Standards Rule).
3. Updated labeling (affixing) details
- Any person who transfers or supplies a substance falling within the scope of the Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS) shall affix or print a Korean warning label on the containers and packaging of the substance (including cases where Korean and a foreign language are indicated on the same label), and shall indicate hazard- and risk-related information in a clearly legible manner. Where, however, the workers handling the substance are foreign nationals (i.e., foreign workers), an additional warning label in a language understood by those foreign workers may be affixed, or such a label may be posted alongside the warning label required by the preceding provision.
- For reagents used in laboratories for testing or research purposes that already bear a foreign-language warning label, or for finished products stored or transported for export, the requirement to affix a Korean warning label may be waived.
- Where the packaging is marked for dangerous substances or dangerous goods as defined in the United Nations Recommendations on the Transport of Dangerous Goods (RTDG), such marking may be made in accordance with the RTDG.
4. Preparation of Labels
A new requirement has been added: hazard statements and precautionary statements shall be indicated, and the corresponding codes (H codes, P codes) may be indicated at the same time.
5. Preparation of MSDS
Regardless of whether the names and concentrations of the individual components are described in Section 3 of the MSDS, the laws and regulations applicable to the mixture as a whole shall be described in Section 15.
In preparing an MSDS, due diligence shall be exercised to protect the health of workers exposed to the substance; at the same time, the information contained therein shall be continuously managed to remain consistent with the latest scientific and technical data and relevant laws and regulations.
6. Transfer and supply
For persons intending to transfer or supply substances falling within the scope of the MSDS, the following updates apply to the provision of the MSDS:
Information and communications networks and electronic documents as defined in Article 2 (1) of the Act on Promotion of Information and Communications Network Utilization and Information Protection, etc. (limited to cases where the MSDS is directly attached, or stored and provided), including the MSDS system operated by the organization.
7. Updated chemical substances publicly notified by the MoEL as likely to cause serious harm to workers' health
The chemical substances specified in Article 35 (2) of the Enforcement Rule of the Act on the Registration and Evaluation of Chemicals (K-REACH). Updated to: the chemical substances specified in Article 35 (3) of the Enforcement Rule of the Act on the Registration and Evaluation of Chemicals (K-REACH).
