WTO finalizes ruling in favor of Korea's import restrictions on Japanese seafood

The World Trade Organization headquarters in Geneva / AFP

The World Trade Organization (WTO) finalized a recent ruling in favor of South Korea's import restrictions on Japanese seafood, Friday, passed in the wake of the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster.

The WTO's Dispute Settlement Body (DSB) adopted the report by the appellate body, saying that the import ban does not violate the WTO's sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) agreement, according to a press release by the government.

Upon the DSB adoption, the appellate body's ruling, which overturned a 2018 verdict that supported Japan, is finalized and goes into force, it said.

Since 2013, South Korea has banned all seafood imports from eight Japanese prefectures, including Fukushima. Two years later, Tokyo brought the case to the WTO and a dispute panel ruled in favor of Japan last year.

But the ruling was overruled by the appellate body in early April, rejecting Japan's claims that the South Korean government's restrictions were unfair.

Seoul said it will maintain the current import restrictions on Japanese seafood. (Yonhap)