[Diary Point = Reporter Kim Jeong-hun] South Korea plans to revise requirements for CCTV inside energy storage system (ESS) containers, as well as environmental and chemical regulations for spent-battery recyclers. The government approved 12 proposed improvements related to the secondary battery industry at a public welfare subcommittee of the Regulatory Rationalization Committee on Oct. 30, and announced them on Nov. 2. The announcement does not mean the rules have been amended. Committee review, safety verification and legal revisions are still needed before the changes can be applied.
An ESS stores electricity and supplies it when needed. Current rules require CCTV inside container-type systems even when their design does not allow people to walk inside. The government plans to consider an exemption for containers with no walkable passageway and with effective monitoring technology, such as a battery management system (BMS), in place of CCTV.
The CCTV exemption will not take effect automatically once those conditions are met. The government plans to review the proposal through the relevant committees by the end of the year and, depending on the outcome, pursue revisions to the Korea Electro-technical Code in 2027. ESS operators must follow the existing rules until new standards are set.
Safety must be demonstrated before electrical equipment can be combined
Current rules require ESS batteries and electrical equipment such as power conversion systems (PCS) to be housed in physically separate compartments, which can take up more room inside a container. The government is considering allowing batteries and electrical equipment to be installed together in one container, but the relevant technology is still under development. The Korea Electrical Safety Research Institute’s research and development project is scheduled to run through 2028; regulatory changes will be pursued only after safety has been demonstrated.
The proposed measures for spent-battery recyclers also aim to reduce the repeated permit and reporting burden each time a process changes. The government plans to waive change reports or allow them to be filed after the fact when the discharge volume from a wastewater facility handling the same type of wastewater increases by less than 10%. The relevant subordinate regulations for integrated environmental management are scheduled for revision in 2027.
The government also plans to address overlapping requirements under the Waste Management Act and the Chemicals Control Act for waste recyclers. It aims to conduct a survey and develop standards tailored to specific industries by 2027, adjusting the administrative burden associated with processing. These measures concern procedures for recycling businesses; they do not immediately change how households dispose of spent batteries or any benefits consumers receive.
The 12 proposals add to six measures announced in August. ESS operators should track the conditions for CCTV exemptions and the timing of code revisions, while recyclers should follow progress on subordinate regulations and industry-specific standards. Detailed eligibility requirements and start dates will be set after further review and legal amendments.