"Seaweed farming is an industry with a significant participation of foreign workers such as seasonal workers, and it has many unofficial supply chains (illegal farms), which the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) can view as the most vulnerable area."
The representative of the Migrant Rights Culture Center for the Benefit of All Meat noted during a meeting at the center's office in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province, on 11th, in response to a question about industries that are likely to become the 'second Tae-pyeong salt farm.' He said, "Seaweed exports have exceeded 1 trillion won and are a major export item to the United States," adding, "CBP often investigates further into surrounding areas or industries once a sanction is issued, so the government or local authorities need to respond sensitively and confidentially."
The CBP, under the Department of Homeland Security, verifies whether forced labor occurred at all stages of production, processing, and transportation of products under the tariff laws. If there are allegations of forced labor, it can issue a Withhold Release Order (WRO). Once a WRO is activated, the relevant products are confiscated immediately upon arrival in the U.S. In April, imports of salt from Tae-pyeong were banned on the grounds that they were produced with forced labor.
The representative mentioned unauthorized supply chains (illegal farms) as one of the reasons the seaweed farming industry could become a target for CBP. He stated, "Seaweed farming can only be conducted in areas that have been approved by the government; however, half of the seaweed farms in Korea are illegal. While overproduction is causing a decline in seaweed prices, this is also related to illegal fishing that the United States is currently investigating."
U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order in April for the 'Strengthening Competitiveness of U.S. Seafood,' directing an investigation into illegal and unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing practices, including forced labor in major seafood-producing countries. U.S. fishermen attending the signing claimed, "China, Japan, Korea, and Taiwan are dumping in the U.S. seafood market."
In the first quarter of this year, seaweed exports amounted to $281 million (approximately 40.2 billion won), an increase of 21.1% compared to the same period last year. Of this, the export value to the United States was $57.9 million, the highest ratio. In January, an analysis of satellite images of seaweed farms in Jeonnam revealed that the proportion of illegal farms reached 40%. Unauthorized farms have seasonal foreign workers or illegal residents working there. The following is a question-and-answer session with the representative.
─Will there be a second Tae-pyeong salt farm?
"CBP sanctions are often repeated. Currently, 70% of active WROs are in regions like Xinjiang, China. (In the case of) Malaysia that was sanctioned by CBP, it started with rubber gloves and expanded to palm oil products. The sanction against the Tae-pyeong salt farm indicates that CBP is closely monitoring Korea."
─Why seaweed farming?
"The scale of the industry, the import-export relationship with the U.S., the involvement of foreign workers, and the existence of unofficial supply chains (illegal farms) all can pose issues. The poor working conditions of seasonal workers in the seaweed farming industry have been widely reported in the media. In particular, illegal farms are a part of the investigation that President Trump recently directed. CBP can raise sufficient issues."
─What possible repercussions could there be?
"Export bans are extremely concerning. If exports of seaweed products from a specific region are prohibited, it could also stop exports from large corporations that accept such products. This could affect stock prices and reputation. Once a case is identified, it may extend to other agricultural and fishery products or industries."
─What evidence is there that the U.S. is watching?
"Earlier this year, the U.S. Department of State conducted an investigation involving human rights organizations for the purpose of drafting a human trafficking report. CBP collects human trafficking-related data and conducts preliminary investigations. Recently, it has strengthened reporting channels for human rights organizations by establishing a tip-off site. Last year's human trafficking report also included cases of seasonal workers who were victimized by brokers. This indicates that the U.S. is monitoring information through various channels."
─Are there other dangerous industries?
"Recently, CBP sanctioned the Chinese fishing vessel Zhenfa 7. Deep sea fishing vessels employ many foreign crew members from Indonesia and tuna is the second-highest export value of Korean seafood products. Korea's shipbuilding industry is world-class, but deep sea fishing vessels are quite outdated, leading to a poor living environment for crew members. In the cases reported to us, there were instances where a reward was offered for Indonesian crew members who disembarked the ships, indicating a form of private sanction."
Additionally, deep sea fishing vessels have a pay structure where the captain and executives receive performance pay based on the quantity of catch along with a basic salary. This effectively means that the owners and crew members reach an agreement to share the profits from the sale of the catch in a certain ratio. However, this structure often only benefits Korean crew members while foreign crew members are excluded. Such an unreasonable structure can result in the harsh labor of migrant workers resulting in reward only going to Korean crew members such as captains.
─What are solutions to the broker issue with seasonal workers?
"Employers and local government officials need to enhance their awareness of human rights. Additionally, there is a need to reinforce personnel and budget. It is insufficient when one person assigned to other tasks manages hundreds or thousands of foreign workers. Also, rather than receiving workers from various countries, a country that can communicate in English or has lower sending costs should be designated, and the national government should become the subject of contracts instead of local governments. This would avoid creating gaps where brokers can intervene. There should be national statistics created to check if seasonal workers face any harm after completing their work."
─Why do brokers arise?
"In the case of Yanggu, Gangwon Province, the victims are 91 Filipino workers. The damages amount to at least 2 billion won. There are many deductions such as commissions, airfare, extension fees, and training costs. For people without initial costs, they provide loans of several million won and collect interest close to 30% annually. This way, brokers cannot help but profit.
If brokers are caught, they face fines of around 30 million won, which is far too small compared to the 2 billion won profit. In Korea, convictions often result in fines rather than imprisonment, but it should shift towards imposing actual prison sentences."
─Do you have any suggestions for the government?
"It's disappointing that the government's 100 major pledges do not include foreign worker policies. Foreign workers have become essential to the point that our industries cannot operate without them. Recently, I proposed to the government a policy guaranteeing foreign workers freedom of job mobility."
The issue of foreign manpower should not become a playground for politics and diplomacy. The government is increasing manpower quotas in developing countries as a gesture for diplomacy. In regions where seasonal workers and migrant laborers continue to get involved in incidents, local lawmakers promote their achievements for increasing seasonal worker quotas. The migrant labor policy needs to be resolved as a labor issue."
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