Minister of Oceans and Fisheries Kang Do-hyung: "Restructuring Fisheries and Aquaculture... Responding to Climate Change"

Press Conference with Journalists at Government Sejong Complex on the 14th

Minister of Oceans and Fisheries Kang Do-hyung announced on the 14th that he will fundamentally restructure the fisheries and aquaculture industries to respond to climate change, which was a major topic of discussion during the National Assembly audit.

Kang Do-hyung, Minister of Oceans and Fisheries, is having an informal meeting with reporters on October 14.

At a press briefing with reporters on the same day, Minister Kim stated, "We will present a comprehensive plan to address climate change in the fisheries and aquaculture sectors by the end of November," adding, "We are conducting a thorough review starting with practical ideas that can be implemented within the next 2 to 3 years."

During the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries audit on the 8th, Minister Kang also pledged to prepare specific countermeasures regarding the issues that lawmakers focused on: △climate change △marine waste △management of seafood prices.

Minister Kang said, "Although the high-temperature warning was fully lifted on October 2, reports from fishermen affected by the high temperatures are still being received, and as of October 14, a total of 49.23 million fish, including rockfish, have been reported as damaged," adding, "To help affected fishermen resume their operations quickly, we proactively provided disaster relief funds amounting to 13.9 billion won to 352 fishing households whose damage investigations were completed in September, and we will also ensure prompt compensation for households whose damage assessments are still underway."

He continued, "From the perspective that securing the safety of the people and the national territory from coastal disasters caused by climate change is a national duty, we intend to address the issue of coastal erosion," and stated, "We plan to legislate the mandatory pre-review of coastal erosion for large-scale coastal development activities, and will also actively promote the National Safe Coast Project to secure buffer zones in areas with high disaster risk."

Democratic Party lawmaker Im Mi-ae and others urged the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries to respond to the ongoing coastal erosion caused by coastal development during the Ministry’s audit by the National Assembly’s Agriculture, Forestry, Livestock, Food, and Oceans and Fisheries Committee on the 8th. The Ministry plans to establish a coastal maintenance plan by December.

Minister Kang also shared the results of his participation in the United Nations General Assembly held on the 23rd of last month (local time). He said, "At the 79th United Nations General Assembly, I attended the High-Level Meeting on Sea Level Rise and expressed our strong commitment to responding to climate change and supporting developing countries," adding, "We also announced plans to provide 300 million dollars to the Green Climate Fund (GCF) by last year and an additional 300 million dollars by 2027."

Furthermore, he revealed that he requested support from UN officials and high-ranking figures from various countries, including U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, for the domestic hosting of the United Nations Ocean Conference scheduled for 2028.