KOREA ROHS COMPLIANCE

On April 2nd, 2007, the South Korea Legislation Research Institute published its own RoHS. Also known as Korea RoHS, 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.

Scope of the Korea RoHS Act on Resource Circulation of Electrical and Electronic Equipment and Vehicles

Major consumer products fall within the scope, such as televisions, cellular phones, washing machines, PCs, printers, air conditioning units, and;
Automotive equipment like cars, vans, and trucks of less than 3.5 tons.
A regulatory amendment considers additional products, such as vending machines, surveillance cameras, video game consoles, routers, scanners, GPS, and projectors.

Responsibilities of Manufacturers and Importers

As a manufacturer or importer, actively promoting recycling is a responsibility required by the Act. As such,

developing technology for recycling;
improving the materials and structures;
restricting hazardous substance use;
using products easily recyclable; and
reducing/collecting any produced waste, are ways to uphold this responsibility.

The Korea RoHS Section

Similarly to RoHS China, RoHS Taiwan, and J-Moss RoHS Japan, Korea RoHS restricts the use of 6 substances in electrical and electronic equipment, at the homogeneous materials level:

Lead (Pb) and lead compounds
Cadmium (Cd) and cadmium compounds
Mercury (Hg) and mercury compounds
Hexavalent chromium (Cr 6+)
Polybrominated biphenyls (PBBs)
Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs)

An amendment considers the additional restriction of four phthalates (BBP, DBP, DEHP, and DIBP).

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 Korea WEEE Section

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. To comply, they typically deal with local ‘producer compliance schemes’ (PCS) that will arrange the collection and treatment of their WEEE. These PCS must recycle the e-waste accordingly with the Ministry of Environment standards.

In the case of WEEE violation, the Minister of Environment can fine the manufacturers, distributors, or the producer compliance schemes, depending on the offence.

The Korea ELV Section

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.