Fire Agency to Introduce Special Permit Exceptions for Hazardous Material Facilities... Supporting Semiconductor Industry Development

Implementation Goal by Year-End

The National Fire Agency has initiated revisions to related regulations to improve regulations applied to hazardous material facilities manufacturing semiconductors. As the National Assembly's 'Special Committee on Strengthening Semiconductor Industry Competitiveness' has been launched and national policies to foster the domestic semiconductor industry are being promoted, the National Fire Agency is also working on regulatory improvements considering changes in the industrial field.

On the 18th, the National Fire Agency announced that it has prepared the 'Partial Amendment Ordinance of the Enforcement Rules of the Hazardous Materials Safety Control Act,' which includes as a key point the 'Special Case for General Handling Facilities in Semiconductor Manufacturing Processes,' an improvement applicable to facilities using hazardous materials to manufacture semiconductors.

Facilities using hazardous materials to manufacture semiconductors must comply with various safety regulations, including obtaining permission from the fire station chief according to the 'Hazardous Materials Safety Control Act.' However, the current law does not reflect the rapidly changing semiconductor manufacturing process environment, making direct application difficult in some cases. As a result, delays in the permit review process have occurred.

The main contents of the amendment are ▲relaxation of the criteria for change permits required when expanding facilities using hazardous materials ▲establishment of special cases for general handling facilities in semiconductor manufacturing processes that receive permits by building unit ▲establishment of special cases for general handling facilities in semiconductor manufacturing processes that receive permits by compartment unit ▲relaxation of installation standards for fire extinguishing equipment, among others.

The prepared 'Partial Amendment Ordinance of the Enforcement Rules of the Hazardous Materials Safety Control Act' has completed internal review, is currently soliciting opinions from related agencies, and aims to complete the amendment process in the second half of this year and promulgate and enforce it by the end of this year.

Kwon Hyuk-min, Director of the Fire Prevention Bureau at the National Fire Agency, said, “We prepared the amendment focusing on supporting domestic semiconductor industry development policies while ensuring the safety of the public from accidents such as fires and leaks of hazardous materials.” He added, “We will continue to strive for improvements in hazardous materials systems and policy development so that public safety and convenience can be protected together.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.