What is the tonnage threshold for K-REACH on sulfur (elemental)?

K-REACH registration required for existing chemicals manufactured or imported >1 tonne/year (verified per Korean Ministry of Environment / NIER guidance, https://chemical.chemlinked.com/chempedia/k-reach; threshold for new substances was reduced from 0.1 t/y to 1 t/y effective 1 January 2025 per K-REACH 2025 amendment)

CAS 7704-34-9 · K-REACH · Republic of Korea

Sulfur (elemental) under K-REACH

S8 · 硫磺

Status: Registered. Sulfur is registered under K-REACH. NOT on Korea TCCA Toxic Chemicals list (verify against the current TCCA Toxic Chemicals list at https://www.nics.go.kr/ before relying). NOT on Korean Drug Management Act precursor list. NO active Korean AD/CVD case on Chinese-origin sulfur currently (verify against https://www.kita.org/ or Korea Trade Commission filings before invoicing). Korea has substantial domestic sulfur production from refinery / petrochemical Claus-process captive recovery (SK Innovation, GS Caltex, S-OIL, Hyundai Oilbank, Lotte Chemical); structurally domestic-supplied for sulfuric-acid downstream consumption. KCFTA preferential zero-duty applies for any Chinese-origin imports (rare given China is also net-importer). **Korean Pesticide Control Act registers elemental sulfur as a pesticide active (fungicide)** (verify current approval status against the Rural Development Administration / RDA before relying).

K-REACH treats sulfur as a routine registered substance with no TCCA overlay. Korea structurally domestic-supplied (SK Innovation + GS Caltex + S-OIL + Hyundai Oilbank + Lotte Chemical refinery Claus-process captive). NO active Korean AD/CVD case. **Sulfur distinguishing pattern across all 5 regimes**: Production via Claus process at refineries and sour-gas plants (recovered sulfur from H2S in petroleum refining + natural-gas sweetening + tar-sands upgrading) accounting for the dominant share of global production; minimal residual Frasch-mining production + closes sulfur chain upstream of H2SO4 batch 2 + AS batch 31 + DAP batch 30 + NaOCl batch 65 + sulfuric-acid feedstock primary use ~60% plus phosphate-fertiliser sulfuric-acid input plus rubber vulcanisation plus fungicide / pesticide active (EU PPP + EPA FIFRA + APVMA + RDA) plus pharma plus pyrotechnic plus Li-S battery developmental downstream chains + low-to-moderate hazard profile across regimes (Flam. Sol. 2 at fine-powder grade only) + China is structurally net-IMPORTER of sulfur (~30% of global trade flows into China; sources from Saudi Aramco + Russian gas + Canadian Alberta tar-sands + Qatar + Iran + UAE + Kazakhstan).

Listing and threshold

Substance	Sulfur (elemental) (CAS 7704-34-9), S8
Regime	Korea Act on the Registration and Evaluation of Chemicals (Act No. 11789, "K-REACH" amended 2018)
Jurisdiction	Republic of Korea
Status	Registered
Tonnage threshold	K-REACH registration required for existing chemicals manufactured or imported >1 tonne/year (verified per Korean Ministry of Environment / NIER guidance, https://chemical.chemlinked.com/chempedia/k-reach; threshold for new substances was reduced from 0.1 t/y to 1 t/y effective 1 January 2025 per K-REACH 2025 amendment)

Classifications under this regime

Korean GHS classification: Flam. Sol. 2 at fine-powder grade only
NOT on Korea TCCA Toxic Chemicals list
NOT on Korean Drug Management Act precursor list
Korean Customs Service (KCS) HS code: 250300
**Korean Pesticide Control Act pesticide active (fungicide)** (verify current approval status against the Rural Development Administration / RDA)
IARC: Not classified

Restrictions and conditions of use

No TCCA Toxic Chemicals Handling Permit required
KOSHA MSDS in Korean required at workplace (Flam. Sol. 2 at fine-powder grade)
NO active Korean AD/CVD case on Chinese sulfur currently
KCFTA preferential zero-duty applies (HS 250300)
**Korean Pesticide Control Act pesticide active (fungicide) registration**

Importer obligations

Korean importer of record must hold K-REACH registration. Korea has substantial domestic sulfur production from refinery / petrochemical Claus-process captive recovery (SK Innovation + GS Caltex + S-OIL + Hyundai Oilbank + Lotte Chemical); structurally domestic-supplied with rare Chinese imports.

Required documents

K-REACH registration number on Korean side
Korean MSDS (Flam. Sol. 2 at fine-powder grade)
KCS declaration with HS 250300
China-Korea FTA Form CO
RDA Pesticide Control Act registration where placed as fungicide

Common compliance traps

The pitfalls that have bitten importers on this lane in the past. None of these is theoretical.

Korea has substantial domestic sulfur production (refinery Claus-process captive at SK Innovation + GS Caltex + S-OIL + Hyundai Oilbank + Lotte Chemical)
KCFTA preferential zero-duty applies
NO active Korean AD/CVD case
NOT on TCCA Toxic Chemicals list
**Korean Pesticide Control Act pesticide active (fungicide) registration via RDA**

Where to read next

For substance-level identifiers (formula, molecular weight, SMILES, InChIKey), GHS hazard profile, IMDG transport class, and full sourcing reference for sulfur (elemental), see the CAS 7704-34-9 sourcing reference.

For grade-by-grade buying notes, freight maths, supplier-tier pricing, and a worked landed-cost example, the sulfur (elemental) cornerstone hub covers the full sourcing chain.

For the structure and history of K-REACH, see the K-REACH glossary entry.

Need cross-jurisdiction compliance support on this substance? Run it through the REACH / TSCA / IECSC / AICIS / K-REACH checker, or send us the substance and the destination and we will quote FOB China and CIF / DDP landed including the regulatory work on the destination side.

Cross-jurisdiction profile and sourcing references

Referenced in

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