Sejong, March 3 - The Ministry of Environment (Minister Han Wha-jin) announced it would work on 21 new deregulation tasks in the environmental sector of the Comprehensive Plan for Regulatory Revision for 2023, which was approved at a Cabinet meeting on February 28, 2023. There are 21 new deregulation tasks in five areas that include △two tasks for abolishing and streamlining unnecessary environmental certifications, △ four tasks for improving regulations to cope with climate change, △three tasks for redefining regulations for public safety, △six tasks for reducing excessive corporate burden, and △six tasks for other environmental deregulations. The environment ministry plans to implement these 21 deregulation tasks within 2023 for citizens and businesses to experience beneficial results. 

The Ministry of Environment will abolish or streamline redundant or excessive environmental certifications to reduce the burden on companies caused by shadow regulations and expand the application of new technologies. First, the Ministry will abolish standards for the certification of eco-label of faucet products as they have similar or overlapping items with the KS certification. Although eco-label certification is voluntary and not mandated, local governments and public institutions have required KS-certified products to receive such eco-label certification, resulting in shadow regulations that obligate mandatory certification. It will reduce the inspection items for non-point pollution reduction facilities that have already received certification and verification of new excellent environmental technologies to lower the threshold for market entry and commercialize the technology.

The Ministry of Environment plans to deregulate those related to responding to climate change by enhancing disaster response capabilities and reducing carbon emissions through recycling. The Ministry will try to solve the water shortage in drought areas by postponing the obligation of cleaning water tanks for large building owners in areas concerned with limited water supply due to drought. The Ministry will also establish recycling types and standards so that used oil, used lubricant, and food waste can be recycled into raw materials for petroleum or petrochemical products, fuel through thermal treatment, and raw materials for synthetic resin products, respectively.   

The Ministry of Environment will adjust untenable regulations to secure public safety from environmental threats. To date, sewage and foul waste have been subject to composition tests according to the worrisome level of soil contamination, even though over 50% of sewage and foul waste was treated by incineration or drying processes. The Ministry will adjust these regulations in more realistic ways considering public safety. The Ministry will impose a penalty instead of suspension of operations for specialized technical diagnostic institutes for public sewerage systems due to concerns about potential damage to residents caused by difficulties in proper sewage treatment. 

The Ministry will also reduce excessive burdens on corporate activities by adjusting administrative dispositions. First, if a company that violates the Wastes Control Act is sanctioned under other laws for the same violation, the administrative disposition may be partially reduced. The Ministry of Environment will make meeting facilities and equipment requirements more realistic considering the purpose of the designation, such as replacing the criteria for designation for environmental assessment institutes of recycling. Previously, analysis equipment was required to meet the standards for designating an environmental assessment institute of recycling. The Ministry will change it to be possible to request the analysis to an external testing and analysis agency will be possible.

Finally, the Ministry of Environment will reform impractical environmental regulations, such as minimizing data distortion by making standards for determining exceeding hours of operation of TMS from a 3-hour average to a 24-hour average.

Minister of Environment Han Wha-jin stated, “Environmental deregulation should produce results that benefit citizens and companies, rather than simply improving the system.” She added, “While firmly adhering to environmental policy goals such as safety, health, and a clean environment, we will resolve public inconveniences, maximizing autonomy and creativity on the industrial front, and accelerating environmental deregulations in 2023  to help improve the environment and boost the economy.”

Contact: Cho Joon-haeng, Deputy Director

Legal Affairs and Regulations Reform Division / +82-(0)44-201-6395

Foreign Media Contact: Chun Minjo(Rachel)

+82-(0)44-201-6055 / rachelmchun@korea.kr