South Korea SDS Authoring

National Regulations Governing SDSs

In South Korea the regulations governing Safety Data Sheet (SDS) authoring are regulated by the Ministry of Labor (MoL) under Public Notice No 2008-01 (Standard of Classification, labeling and MSDS of Chemicals) pursuant to provisions found in the Industrial Safety and Health Act.

GHS standard governing Classification/labeling

  • Ministry of Employment and Labor Public Notice #2016-19: Standards for Classification and/or Labeling of Chemicals and for Materials Safety Data Sheets
  • It stipulates chemical classification criteria, the content of SDSs/labeling, and phrases for various hazard and precautionary statements in Korean. The standard is based on UN GHS Rev. 4.

Additional Regulations

In South Korea chemicals are also regulated by the following agencies and legislative acts:

  • Ministry of the Environment – Toxic Chemicals Control Act
  • National Emergency Management Agency – Hazardous Materials Act

There are also a number of Agencies and Acts that govern chemical transportation and agrochemicals.

GHS Implementation Status

The Global Harmonized System (GHS) has been implemented in Korea. Substances are currently regulated under the new legislation based on the GHS; Mixtures are classified under GHS regulations since July 1, 2013.

Multi – Jurisdiction SDS Options

Combining Korea SDSs with other jurisdictions is not recommended.