On April 2nd, 2007, the South Korea Legislation Research Institute published its own Korea RoHS law. This regulation went into effect on January 1st, 2008, under the name of the Act on Resource Circulation of Electrical and Electronic Equipment and Vehicles. It is the South Korean version of the Europe RoHS, WEEE, and ELV directives combined.
The following categories are mostly consumer-oriented products, focusing on items with significant market presence and environmental impact.
Effective Date of Amendment | Covered Categories |
|---|---|
January 1st, 2008 |
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July 1st, 2013 |
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January 1, 2021 |
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Initially, Korea RoHS has focused on these specific categories of Electrical and Electronic Equipment (EEE) and Vehicles:
On July 1, 2013, Korea RoHS expanded its scope by adding 16 additional product categories to the list of regulated items. This move aimed to further reduce hazardous substances in a wider range of electrical and electronic equipment. Therefore, Korea demonstrated its commitment to strengthening environmental protection measures and aligning with international standards like the EU RoHS.
In November 2020, South Korea amended again its Act on Resource Circulation of Electrical and Electronic Equipment and Vehicles. Consequently, effective January 1, 2021, 23 new electronic and electrical product categories were added to the list of items subject to hazardous substance restrictions.
In September 2024, the South Korean Ministry of Environment drafted a revision to expand the scope of Korea RoHS to all EEE. Nevertheless, a list of excluded products remains, like military equipment.
The timeline for these revisions is:
Examples of Covered Products include:
Certain product categories are often excluded from RoHS due to their specialized use. These exclusions might include:
However, these exclusions are subject to review and may vary based on specific product criteria and risk assessments.
As a manufacturer or importer, actively promoting recycling is a responsibility required by the Act. As such,
Compliance with the restriction of hazardous substances is obtained through examination or assessment. Once compliant with the maximum concentration limits, the outcome must be publicly disclosed.
The regulation initially restricted only six hazardous substances:
Additionally, since July 1, 2021, an amendment has restricted four phthalates:
Products containing plastics or materials where phthalates are commonly used as plasticizers are particularly impacted by this amendment. Examples are:
The maximum allowable concentration of these chemicals is 0.1% (1000 ppm) by weight in homogeneous materials, except for cadmium which is 0.01%.
As in other countries, WEEE is an acronym that stands for Waste of Electrical and Electronic Equipment.
Manufacturers and distributors of electrical and electronic equipment are responsible for the future waste of the in-scope products they place into the Korean Market. As a result, to achieve their Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) duties, manufacturers deal with local ‘producer compliance schemes’ (PCS). Then, PCS will arrange the collection and treatment of their WEEE. In addition, these PCS must recycle the e-waste according to the Ministry of Environment standards.
In the case of WEEE violation, the Minister of Environment can fine manufacturers, distributors, or producer compliance schemes, depending on the offence.
ELV is an acronym standing for end-of-life vehicles. Just like the EU ELV Directive, Korea RoHS also restricts the use of four heavy metals in vehicles: lead (Pb), cadmium (Cd), mercury (Hg), and hexavalent chromium (Cr6+).
Any manufacturers or importers of vehicles and any persons managing vehicle scraps fall under the ELV scope of Korea RoHS.
On top of the restriction of heavy metals in vehicles, recycling obligations of end-of-life vehicles apply to in-scope stakeholders. Among other things, recycling facilities must shred residues and deal with hazardous substances separately.
Both the Minister of Environment and the Minister of Land, Infrastructure, and Transport demand periodical reports on the recycling, reuse, and disposal of vehicle scraps, for monitoring purposes.
Questions about Korea RoHS? Please contact Enviropass.
