South Korea to End Urea and Medical Syringe Hoarding Restrictions After Supply Stabilizes

South Korea will allow temporary anti-hoarding restrictions on urea products and medical injection supplies to expire at the end of October, after officials concluded that inventories and distribution conditions had stabilized.

The Ministry of Finance and Economy announced the decision on Wednesday, October 28, during a meeting of ministers responsible for economic policy. The restrictions covered urea and urea solution used in diesel-vehicle emissions systems, as well as medical syringes and needles. The government said it would continue tracking inventories and prices after the measures end.

The urea controls were introduced in March amid supply concerns linked to the Middle East conflict and disruptions to international trade. Restrictions on syringes and needles followed in April as higher costs and concerns over supplies of petrochemical feedstocks affected medical equipment markets.

Under the temporary rules, covered businesses were barred from retaining inventory exceeding twice their average monthly sales in the previous year for specified periods. The thresholds applied over seven days for urea products and five days for medical supplies. The rules were designed to deter deliberate withholding of goods during periods of uncertain supply.

The end of the restrictions is a change to emergency inventory controls, not a ban on ordinary stockholding or a declaration that future shortages are impossible. Urea is important to the operation of diesel vehicles equipped with emissions-control systems and is also used in fertilizer production. Medical syringes and needles are essential products for clinics and hospitals.

Separate reporting from ChosunBiz cited a government official saying domestic urea inventories could cover four to five months of demand. It also reported that authorities previously identified stockpiling violations among medical-supply businesses, illustrating that enforcement experience differed across product categories.

The ministry said it would reassess countermeasures if renewed shortages emerged. For businesses, the decision removes a temporary compliance requirement while leaving ordinary supply monitoring in place. The announcement was made on October 28; the restrictions are due to lapse at the end of the month rather than immediately.