Sejong, December 9 - The Ministry of Environment (Minister Han Wha-jin) shared the Korean government's innovative cases for environmental deregulations at the 27th Regulatory Policy Committee of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) held in Paris, France, for two days from December 5. Lee Young-gi, Deputy Minister for Planning and Coordination, attended the Regulatory Policy Committee to share Korea's experiences on environmental deregulation, such as "Designating differential chemical substances and reorganizing management system," with OECD member countries. Taking the event as an opportunity, the OECD Secretariat will disclose a draft report on "Better Regulation for Green Transition," which will be provided to member countries in January 2023. The report will also cover South Korea's four cases as best practices.

Korea's four best practices are innovative approaches for environmental deregulations toward carbon neutrality and the transition to a circular economy. The four cases include risk-based regulation for chemical substances; the introduction of the regulatory sandbox; the introduction of the best available technology (BAT) when providing integrated environmental permits; and the environmental regulation consulting program called the "Green-Up Program." The "risk-based regulation for chemical substances" is a practice of applying regulations, such as those on handling facilities or business licenses, on the site at a different level considering the hazards and risks of chemicals. These regulations are designed to pay close attention to safety management when handling and storing acute harmful substances that can cause immediate danger in case of contact with the human body. Chronic toxic substances that can affect the human body even in small amounts for an extended time are managed, focusing on reducing human exposure rather than the risk of accidents.

There have been constraints in market launch due to old versions of laws and systems, such as licenses, permits, and recycling types, despite the rapid development of new technologies of resource circulation, such as carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS) and waste plastic pyrolysis. To solve the problem, the Ministry of Environment introduced waste regulation sandboxes to apply new technologies and services with high utilization value first.

In 2017, the best available technology (BAT) was introduced when integrated environmental permits were provided. It is a system to streamline the application process of permits by integrating ten types of environmental permits, including those required by the Clean Air Conservation Act and the Water Environment Conservation Act.

The "environmental regulation consulting program called Green-Up Program" has been expanded and reorganized into a diagnosis (consulting) support program for environmental values such as "environmental, social, and governance (ESG)" starting this year. In addition to providing simple regulatory information, the support program now provides a diagnosis for environmental management and green transition. More projects have been additionally offered, such as self-diagnosing environmental regulations.

The cooperation between the Ministry of Environment and OECD, which has continued since the new government's inauguration, led to the ministry's presentation of innovative environmental deregulation cases at the committee. The two sides have jointly prepared a report on "Better Regulation for Green Transition" after several meetings since June in pursuit of innovation in environmental regulations. At the seminar on innovative environmental regulations jointly held with the Ministry of Environment and OECD in September 2022, OECD officials asked the Korean government to share those cases with the OECD member countries during the Regulatory Policy Committee session, highly praised the ministry's innovative approaches. 

Lee Young-gi, Deputy Minister for Planning and Coordination, met with Janos Bertok, Deputy Director for OECD Public Governance, on December 6 to further discuss future cooperation between the Korean government and the OECD Secretariat.

Lee Young-gi, Deputy Minister for Planning and Coordination, said, "OECD has requested because Korea's innovative environmental deregulations are considered an exemplary case for other member countries. We will transform the current regulatory system into an innovative one that meets global standards by actively discussing with domestic and international stakeholders. We will also share our achievements with the international community."

Contact: Na Wook-jong, Deputy Director

Planning and Budget Division / +82-(0)44-201-7582

Foreign Media Contact: Chun Minjo(Rachel)

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