SG 077/26
South Korea prohibits three persistent organic pollutants (POPs).
South Korea regulates POPs through the Persistent Organic Pollutants Control Act (the Act) and its implementing Regulations on Types of POPs and Specific Exemptions (the Regulations). Under Article 13, Paragraph 6 of the Act, the Minister of Climate, Energy and Environment (MCEE) is authorized to designate substances subject to prohibition or restriction, and to establish specific exemptions for their manufacture, import, export and use.
In 2023, the eleventh meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Stockholm Convention (SC COP-11) added three chemicals to Annex A (elimination) of the convention:
- Methoxychlor, with no specific exemptions (SC-11/9)
- Dechlorane Plus (DP), with specific exemptions (SC-11/10)
- UV-328, with specific exemptions (SC-11/11 and SC-12/14)
In April 2026, South Korea’s MCEE issued Notification No 2026-107 to partially amend the Regulations by adding the three POPs mentioned above.
What does this Notification require?
Key highlights include:
- Introducing methoxychlor (unique number 2023-32, eight substances), DP (2023-33, three substances) and UV-328 (2023-34) to Annex 1 of the Regulations, ‘Types of persistent pollutants’
- Listing DP and UV-328, both with specific exemptions, in Annex 2 of the Regulations, ‘Persistent pollutants subject to specific exemptions from prohibitions and restrictions’ (see Table 1 below)
- Adding a time-limited specific exemption for the use of perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) in fire suppression foams that are pre-installed in mobile and fixed systems (until June 2, 2030)
| Substance | Specific Exemption¹ |
|---|---|
| DP |
|
| UV-328 |
|
| ¹Exemptions end on July 27, 2031 | |
Table 1
What are the uses of the newly added three POPs in the Notification?
Examples of uses are detailed in Table 2.
| Entry | Substance | Application |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Methoxychlor, including isomers |
|
| 2 | Dechlorane Plus (DP, CAS 13560-89-9), including its two isomers:
|
|
| 3 | UV-328 (CAS 25973-55-1) |
|
Table 2
Who is impacted?
Stakeholders across multiple industries and supply chains are affected, including manufacturers, users, importers and exporters of these POP substances, as well as products that contain or are contaminated by them.
When does it apply?
Notification No 2026-107 became effective on April 29, 2026 – the day of its announcement. However, the measures for methoxychlor, DP, and UV-328 will be implemented on the date on which ‘Annex A’, adopted at the 11th Conference of the Parties to the Stockholm Convention, enters into force in South Korea.
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