KOREA AND SEABED MINING

The Republic of Korea (ROK) has expressed its great interest in deep sea mining particularly since the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea was adopted. Finally, there is no specific domestic law applicable to seabed mining in the Area. There have been several attempts to legislate a seabed mining act in the Area since the early 1990s. This bill the Act on Management and Support of Seabed Activities etc was designed to establish a seabed mining management system for ROK nationals including private sector actors who intend to participate in activities in the Area in compliance with international law such as UNCLOS. Nevertheless, in order to prepare for the private sector’s possible participation in deep seabed mining activities, the government is expected to propose a new bill during the term of the twenty-first National Assembly. The ROK has attempted to perform mining activities independently since the 1980s by establishing the Korea National Oil Corporation in 1979.