Park Jae-hyuk is a seasoned journalist who has provided comprehensive coverage of South Korea's corporate dynamics, economic policies, industry challenges and the global positioning of Korean companies. Based on the articles he has written since joining The Korea Times in 2016, his investigative approach has helped readers understand corporate governance, economic trends and business strategies shaping South Korea’s economy.
Korea braces for Trump's review of forced labor in seafood sector
A laborer works at Taepyung Salt Farm in Sinan, South Jeolla Province, April 7, five days after the United States banned imports from the largest sea salt farm in Korea due to allegations of forced labor. Yonhap
By Park Jae-hyuk
Oceans minister vows to protect rights of migrant fishermen
Korea recently organized a task force encompassing the fisheries, justice, labor, foreign and trade ministries to counteract U.S. President Donald Trump's recent order to review forced labor in foreign seafood supply chains.
Led by the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries, the new task force will hold its inaugural meeting on International Workers' Day on Thursday.
When Trump signed an executive order to restore American seafood competitiveness on April 17, the White House explained the measure was intended to prevent illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing, forced labor in foreign seafood supply chains and unfair trade practices from undermining U.S. markets.
Although the policy is widely believed to target Chinese seafood produced with North Korean forced labor, it has alarmed South Korea as well, especially following the first-ever U.S. prohibition of imports from a sea salt farm in Sinan, South Jeolla Province, due to the alleged use of slave labor.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection began implementing the import ban on April 2 after Korean advocacy groups submitted petitions to the agency in 2022.
In response, the government has claimed that forced labor no longer exists at the salt farm, following a 2021 case involving a farm operator who failed to pay 340 million won ($237,000) to workers who had harvested salt since 2014.
Then-Labor Minister Lee Jung-sik, center, meets with migrant fishermen on a boat off the coast of Ansan, Gyeonggi Province, July 2023. Newsis
However, concerns have grown that abalone and dried seaweed could be subject to the U.S. import ban, after it was revealed that U.S. State Department officials interviewed migrant workers at Korean fishing villages in January.
There is also concern that the U.S. may leverage the issue in ongoing tariff negotiations with Korea.
"The United States is a major export destination for Korea's seafood and a high value-added market for Korea's dried seaweed," Oceans Minister Kang Do-hyung said. "To minimize the impact on the fisheries industry, we will work swiftly and proactively with relevant ministries and local governments to cope with trade issues."
He also emphasized the government's commitment to protecting fisheries workers' rights, when asked by an Indonesian reporter at the 10th Our Ocean Conference in Busan about the treatment of migrant workers at Korea's fishing villages.
"The government is trying to create a system where migrants with work permits can have their human rights protected and earn enough income," the minister said Tuesday.