South Korea to impose sanctions on fishing operators who use forced labor

The government is pushing to introduce economic and administrative sanctions against fishing industry operators found to have used forced labor, as part of broader efforts to protect the rights of foreign workers in the sector.

The Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries announced Thursday that it will hold a policy forum in Seoul on Friday to discuss ways to improve working conditions and human rights protections for foreign workers in the fisheries sector. The gathering will bring together the Ministry of Employment and Labor, the Ministry of Justice, the National Human Rights Commission of Korea, local governments, civil society groups and outside experts.

The forum was organized to discuss measures to protect foreign workers' rights and improve labor conditions at fisheries sites. Civil society organizations — including the Environmental Justice Foundation, the Migration Human Rights and Culture Center for All, and the public interest law foundation Gongam — are also set to attend and share on-the-ground perspectives.

The Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries is currently developing a package of labor environment improvements that includes tighter oversight of foreign worker recruitment agencies, expansion of the public-sector foreign seasonal worker program, a new mandatory insurance scheme for foreign seasonal workers, and the introduction of standard employment contracts.

The ministry is also reviewing the creation of new economic and administrative sanctions targeting operators confirmed to have used forced labor.

The ministry held a separate consultation on May 28 to gather input from the Ministry of Employment and Labor, related ministries, local governments, producer organizations and labor groups. Friday's forum will add the perspectives of civil society organizations and experts to help finalize the improvement measures.

Discussions at the forum are expected to cover the actual working conditions of foreign workers in the fisheries sector, human rights protection measures, action plans from related ministries, and regulatory reform tasks.

"We organized this forum to hear unfiltered voices from the field about labor conditions in the fisheries sector," said Choe Hyeon-ho, director general for fisheries policy at the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries. "We will actively reflect the opinions and recommendations of civil society groups as we develop effective improvement measures."