This article was posted on the ChosunBiz RM Report website at 4:07 p.m. on May 18, 2026.
The United States Department of State's Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor (DRL) Deputy Minister will visit Korea to discuss human rights issues for foreign workers with civic groups.
As the United States has identified Korea's "forced labor" issue as one of the non-tariff barriers, some say labor conditions at agriculture and fisheries worksites with many foreign workers could grow into a trade risk.
According to civic groups on the 18th, Riley M. Barnes, the United States Department of State's Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor (DRL) Deputy Minister, is scheduled to visit Korea in early June. During the visit, Deputy Minister Barnes plans to hold a closed-door roundtable at the U.S. Embassy in Korea with Korean civic groups that address human rights issues for foreign workers.
The roundtable is expected to focus on human rights issues for foreign deckhands and seasonal workers. In particular, participants will hear views on whether the Korean government is properly checking the issue of forced labor among foreign workers. Civic groups are likely to present issues raised at fisheries sites such as laver and oyster farms, including long working hours, unpaid wages, poor housing, and restrictions on movement.
An official at a foreign worker human rights group said, "Working-level teams in charge of foreign worker issues have held roundtables before, but this is the first time the Deputy Minister is visiting Korea in person to hear opinions." The official added, "In particular, the United States tends to connect the use of foreigners without residence permits in Korea as labor to illegal products or unfair competition."
Human rights issues for foreign workers in Korea have also recently emerged as a bilateral trade matter between Korea and the United States. In April last year, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) under the Department of Homeland Security banned imports of salt produced at a salt farm in Sinan, South Jeolla, saying it was made with forced labor. It is a representative case of a Korean product being subject to a U.S. import ban on grounds of forced labor.
If CBP determines there are elements of forced labor or human rights violations in a product's production and supply chain, it can issue a Withhold Release Order (WRO) to block the item from entering the United States. At business sites with many foreign workers, confirmation of excessive overtime, wage exploitation, movement restrictions, or poor housing can be deemed indications of forced labor.
The Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) also cited Korea's forced labor issue as one of the non-tariff barriers in this year's National Trade Estimate (NTE) report. The report noted, "Korea does not have provisions banning the import of goods produced through forced or compulsory labor," and pointed out, "When these problems interact, they can artificially suppress labor costs and risk conferring an unfair advantage to certain Korean-made or Korea-produced goods and services."
Deputy Minister Barnes is regarded as a key figure overseeing human rights and labor policy at the U.S. Department of State. Since February, Barnes has also served as the Special Coordinator for Tibet. When Secretary of State Marco Rubio appointed Deputy Minister Barnes as Special Coordinator for Tibet, the Chinese government protested, calling it "interference in internal affairs."
As foreign worker human rights issues come under U.S. trade scrutiny, tension is expected to rise in sectors highly dependent on foreign labor, such as laver and oyster aquaculture. If the United States determines there are signs of forced labor in the production of certain items, it could lead to import restrictions, as in the salt farm case.
U.S. President Donald Trump signed the "Enhancing U.S. Seafood Competitiveness" executive order last year, directing an investigation into trade practices involving foreign forced labor by major seafood-producing countries, as well as illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing activities.