Cleaning Up Remaining Permits After a Factory Relocation or Sale — Factory Registration Changes and Cancellation, 30-Day Discharge Facility Closure Reports and Succession

Procedure

1. 1. List all permits of the old factory

   Find every permit still held in the old factory's name, such as the factory registration ledger, air and wastewater discharge facility permits or report certificates, hazardous material manufacturing facility permits, hazardous chemical business permits and industrial waste generator reports, and make a table of the competent authority and current status for each. Changing the business registration address or moving the head office alone does not clear these permits, so this list becomes the basis of the cleanup. If other permits were processed together with the factory registration, add them to the same table.

2. 2. Decide whether facilities are removed or taken over by another company

   If you remove the equipment and end the business, closure or abolition reports are required in each field; if another company takes over the factory and equipment and keeps using them, the transferee files succession reports. For air and wastewater discharge facilities, the transferee succeeds to the former operator's rights and obligations upon transfer, and the same applies to acquisition through auction or sale of seized property. When a factory that received factory establishment approval is transferred, the transferee also succeeds to the rights and obligations relating to that factory.

3. 3. Closure or change reports for air and wastewater discharge facilities

   To close air emission facilities or prevention facilities, submit a discharge facility change report before closing, and file a change report within 2 months when the workplace name or representative changes. For wastewater discharge facilities and water pollution prevention facilities, submit a wastewater discharge facility change report to the province or metropolitan city before closing part of them, within 30 days of closing all of them, and within 2 months of a change of representative or name. Attach the permit or report certificate and documents proving the change.

4. 4. Clean up hazardous material and hazardous chemical facilities

   Report the abolition of a hazardous material manufacturing facility within 14 days of the day it completely loses its function as a hazardous material facility, and if another company took it over, that company reports the succession within 30 days of succeeding. To end a hazardous chemical business, first dispose of the hazardous chemicals remaining at the workplace and then file the closure report, and a company that takes over the business files a succession report within 30 days of succeeding. Proof of disposal of remaining substances and waste is needed for the reports, so secure it before demolition.

5. 5. Change or cancel the factory registration and settle industrial complex matters

   If registered items such as the company name, a reduction in factory site area or the industry change, submit a factory registration change application to the city, county or district within 2 months, and you may apply at the same time for deemed processing of a hazardous material succession report or a discharge facility change report. If manufacturing facilities were removed with no intention of continuing manufacturing, the mayor, county head or district head cancels the factory registration and deletes it from the ledger, so notify the removal to complete the cleanup. Companies in industrial complexes settle their occupancy contract with the management agency, and a company that has closed reports to the management agency and then transfers its industrial land and factory. The business closure report to the tax office is filed by the applicant directly through Hometax or at the tax office.

Required documents

• Factory registration change application (Enforcement Rule of the Industrial Cluster Development and Factory Establishment Act, Form No. 9)
• Discharge facility change report (Enforcement Rule of the Clean Air Conservation Act, Form No. 4) with the discharge facility installation permit or report certificate
• Wastewater discharge facility change report (Enforcement Rule of the Water Environment Conservation Act, Form No. 13) with the wastewater discharge facility installation permit or report certificate
• Hazardous material manufacturing facility abolition report or succession report (statutory form)
• Hazardous chemical business closure report or succession report (statutory form)
• Documents proving the change or closure (photos of removal, proof of disposal of remaining hazardous chemicals and waste, etc.)
• Documents proving succession such as the transfer agreement (when another company takes over the facilities)
• Letter of authorization (when submitted by an agent)

Fees

Industry range of several hundred thousand won to over 1,000,000 won · We advise after consultation depending on the number of permit fields to clean up, whether facilities are removed or taken over by another company, and whether an industrial complex occupancy contract must be settled. Government fees and the cost of equipment removal and remaining waste disposal are separate.

See fees and official charges for this service →

Legal basis and review date

• Industrial Cluster Development and Factory Establishment Act, Article 10
• Industrial Cluster Development and Factory Establishment Act, Article 16
• Industrial Cluster Development and Factory Establishment Act, Article 17
• Industrial Cluster Development and Factory Establishment Act, Article 43
• Enforcement Decree of the Industrial Cluster Development and Factory Establishment Act, Article 21
• Enforcement Rule of the Industrial Cluster Development and Factory Establishment Act, Article 11
• Enforcement Rule of the Industrial Cluster Development and Factory Establishment Act, Article 12-5
• Clean Air Conservation Act, Article 23
• Clean Air Conservation Act, Article 27
• Enforcement Rule of the Clean Air Conservation Act, Article 27
• Water Environment Conservation Act, Article 36
• Enforcement Rule of the Water Environment Conservation Act, Article 38
• Safety Control of Hazardous Substances Act, Article 10
• Safety Control of Hazardous Substances Act, Article 11
• Chemicals Control Act, Article 34
• Chemicals Control Act, Article 37

Checked against the statutes on 2026-10-12

Statutes and public notices change, so each case needs to be checked individually. Statute titles are given in English for reference. The Korean statutes are the authoritative text.

Check these first

• Closing air emission or prevention facilities and closing part of wastewater discharge facilities must be reported before closing, so file the reports before scheduling equipment removal.
• A hazardous chemical business can file its closure report only after disposing of the hazardous chemicals remaining at the workplace, so prepare a disposal plan and proof before demolition.

Frequently asked questions