Decree shifts operation of seafood safety system

Responsibility for the Agricultural and Fisheries Products Safety Information System will transfer to the National Fishery Products Quality Management Service's director to improve accountability. The system provides the public with information on the safety and quality of fisheries products.

The transfer will take effect Jan. 1, 2027, under a partial revision to the Enforcement Decree of the Agricultural and Fisheries Products Quality Control Act. The revision adds operation of the system, as required under Article 103(2) of the act, to the service director's duties. The service director will assume the operating task from the nonprofit corporation.

Presidential Decree No. 36624 was promulgated on Aug. 25, 2026. The decree falls under the authority of the agriculture ministry, the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety and the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries.

The revision also changes Article 43(1), which now names the agriculture minister and the food-and-drug safety commissioner rather than the oceans and fisheries minister. A separate amendment to Article 42(7) adds integrated special mayors alongside special mayors; that provision took effect on the date of promulgation.