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Information on Marine Bio-Resources Acquisition Permission

Marine Bio-Resources Acquisition Permission Procedure

Reporting to the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries

  • 01
    Access the Marine Bio-Resources ABS Information Center
  • 02
    Prepare and submit a report formarine bio-resources acquisition permission
  • 03
    Review and issuance of an acquisition permit

Only an acquisition report is necessary in case of reporting to the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries.

Reporting to the Ministry of Environment

  • 01
    Access the Genetic Resources Reporting Service
  • 02
    Prepare and submit an access report
  • 03
    Review and issuance of access report certificate
  • 04
    Access the Marine Bio-ResourcesABS Information Center
  • 05
    Prepare and submit a report for marine bio-resources acquisition permission
  • 06
    Review and issuance of an acquisition permit

Both an access report and an acquisition report are necessary in case of reporting to the Ministry of Environment.

Rules and Regulation

Act on Securing, Management, and Use of Marine Bio-Resources

  • Article 11 (Acquisition, etc. of Marine Bio-Resources by Foreigners, etc.)
    1. 1In case a foreigner or an international body (hereinafter referred to as “foreigner(s), etc.”) intends to acquire marine bio-resources for the purpose of research, development, production, commercial use, etc. of marine bio-resources from the jurisdictional sea area, he or she shall receive permission in advance from the Minister of Oceans and Fisheries: Provided, That this shall not be the case in which he or she has received permission, approval, etc. (hereinafter referred to as “permission, etc.”) from the Minister of Oceans and Fisheries in accordance with another law concerning marine life or a treaty with the government of the Republic of Korea (including cases in which such permission is deemed to have been received).
    2. 2Foreigners, etc. wishing to obtain permission pursuant to the main sentence of Paragraph 1 and foreigners, etc., who have received permission pursuant to the proviso of the same paragraph, shall submit to the Minister of Oceans and Fisheries an survey plan that includes matters prescribed by Presidential Decree at least 6 months and 1 month prior to the scheduled date of marine bio-resource acquisition, respectively.
    3. 3In case of giving permission pursuant to Paragraph 1, the Minister of Oceans and Fisheries shall issue the foreigner, etc. concerned a permit prescribed by Presidential Decree.
    4. 4Foreigners, etc. who received a permit pursuant to Paragraph 1 shall indicate the permitted matters in an identifiable matter on the authorized ship and display the permit referred to in Paragraph 3.
    5. 5The matters necessary for the permission procedure, permit issuance, permitted matters and indication method, submission of an survey plan, etc. in relation to paragraphs 1 through 4 shall be determined by Presidential Decree.
  • Article 12 (Permission, etc. for Joint Acquisition by Foreigners, etc.)
    1. 1In case a foreigner, etc. makes an acquisition pursuant to the main sentence of Article 11 (1) jointly with a citizen or national agency of the Republic of Korea (hereinafter referred to as “citizen, etc.”) through delegation, consignment, or a contract, etc., the foreigner, etc. or the citizen, etc. participating in the joint acquisition shall obtain permission pursuant to the main sentence of the same paragraph: Provided, That where permission, etc. has been received (including cases in which permission is deemed to have been received) pursuant to the proviso of Article 11 (1), this shall not be the case. <Amended, May 26, 2020>
    2. 2A foreigner, etc. wishing to receive permission pursuant to the main sentence of Paragraph 1 or a citizen, etc. participating in the joint acquisition and a foreigner, etc. who has received permission pursuant to the proviso of the same paragraph shall submit to the Minister of Oceans and Fisheries an survey plan that includes matters prescribed by Presidential Decree at least 6 months (2 months in case of seeking permission for research purposes) and 1 month prior to the scheduled date of marine bio-resource acquisition, respectively. <Newly Inserted, May 26, 2020>
    3. 3With respect to granting permission pursuant to Paragraph 1, Article 11 (3) through (5) shall apply mutatis mutandis. In such cases, “foreigner, etc.” shall be deemed as “foreigner, etc. or citizen, etc. participating in the joint acquisition.” <Amended, May 26, 2020>

Enforcement Decree of the Act on Securing, Management, and Use of Marine Bio-Resources

  • Article 7 (Procedure, etc. for Permission of Acquisition of Marine Bio-Resources)
    1. 1A foreigner or international body (hereinafter referred to “foreigner(s), etc.”) wishing to obtain permission for acquisition of marine bio-resources pursuant to the main sentence of Article 11 (1) of the Act shall submit to the Minister of Oceans and Fisheries an application form for permission for acquisition of marine bio-resources prescribed by Ordinance of the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries with an survey plan that includes the matters stipulated in the following subparagraphs attached thereto. In such cases, where an individual who is not a foreign government or international body applies for permission, he or she shall submit the application form and the following via the government of the country to which he or she belongs :
      • 1. Purpose and target of the survey
      • 2. Method and means of the survey
      • 3. Survey personnel
      • 4. Survey equipment and facilities
      • 5. Waters subject to the survey
      • 6. Survey ship
      • 7. Matters related to reporting and using survey results
      • 8. Matters related to the participation of the people of the Republic of Korea.
    2. 2In case of receiving an application for permission pursuant to Paragraph 1, the Minister of Oceans and Fisheries shall determine whether to grant permission after consulting with the heads of the relevant administrative agencies.
    3. 3In case of granting permission pursuant to the main sentence of Article 11 (1) of the Act, the Minister of Oceans and Fishers shall issue a marine bio-resources acquisition permit (hereinafter referred to as a “acquisition permit, etc.”) prescribed by the Ordinance of the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries to the applicant. In such cases, the matters stipulated in the following subparagraphs shall be included in the acquisition permit.
      • 1. Title, company name or name of the individual who received the permission
      • 2. Marine bio-resource for which the permission was granted
      • 3. Equipment and facilities for which the permission was granted
      • 4. Waters for which the permission was granted
      • 5. Ship for which the permission was granted
      • 6. Effective period of the permission
      • 7. Permission conditions.
    4. 4Foreigners, etc. who received permission pursuant to the main sentence of Article 11 (1) of the Act shall install a flag prescribed by the Ordinance of the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries on the exterior of the ship for which permission was granted pursuant to Paragraph 4 of the same Article.
  • Article 8 (Procedure, etc. for Permission of Joint Acquisition of Marine Bio-Resources)
    1. 1An individual wishing to obtain permission for joint acquisition of marine bio-resources pursuant to Article 12 (1) of the Act shall submit to the Minister of Oceans and Fisheries a joint acquisition permission application form prescribed by the Ordinance of the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries and the documents stipulated in the following subparagraphs thereto :
      • 1. A survey plan that includes the matters stipulated in the subparagraphs of Article 7 (1)
      • 2. Documents related to the delegation, consignment, or contract, etc. relating to the joint acquisition
      • 3. Plan for using the marine bio-resources to be jointly acquired
      • 4. A document that includes the matters related to the allocation and handling of the marine bio-resources acquired by the parties participating in the joint acquisition.
    2. 2With respect to the joint acquisition permission pursuant to Paragraph 1, the provisions from Article 7 (2) through (4) shall apply mutatis mutandis.
  • Article 9 (Duties of Foreigners, etc.)

    Foreigners who have obtained permission pursuant to the main sentence of Article 11 (1) or the main sentence of Article 12 (1) (hereinafter referred to as “permission”) shall submit to the Minister of Oceans and Fisheries the materials referred to in Article 13 (3) 1 within 3 months from the end of the effective period of the permission: Provided, That where the research, development, production, commercial use, etc. of the marine bio-resources concerned ended prior to the end of the effective period of the permission, the materials shall be submitted within 3 months from the end of the research, etc.

    • 1. Submitting a report on outcomes, data from the survey, and materials, such as specimens and genetic material that can be divided without diminishing the scientific value of such material, regarding the acquired marine fishery bio-resources, as prescribed by Presidential Decree.
    • 2. Providing records of analysis of survey findings and data.
    • 3. Assisting in analysis of survey findings and data.

Acquisition Permission Procedure by Nationality

  • Korean citizens

    Korean citizens may freely access and acquire domestic marine bio-resources, unless otherwise specified in specific statutes1)

    • Within the scope of application of the Act on Securing, Management, and Use of Marine Bio-Resources, the only way to acquire domestic marine bio-resources is through the parcel-out method.
      • The depositary, registration and preservation institution determines the status of resources in possession, etc., based on the submitted parcel-out approval application form, and submits a letter of opinion following a review and a self-check sheet to the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries via the responsible agency (National Institute of Fisheries Science or National Marine Biodiversity Institute of Korea). The Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries then reviews the parcel-out approval conditions2) and issue a parcel-out approval certificate.
    • 01
      Applicant Submit a parcel-out application form
    • 02
      Depository, registration and preservation institution Review the possibility of parceling out the marine bio-resource
      (letter of opinion following a review and self-check sheet)
    • 03
      Responsible agency Compile the parcel-out application form, letter of opinion, and self-check sheet
    • 04
      Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries Issue a parcel-out approval certificate
    • 05
      Depository, registration and preservation institution Parcel out the resource

    appendix

    • 1) Act on Securing, Management, and Use of Marine Bio-Resources, Fishery Resource Management Act, Act on the Conservation and Use of Biological Diversity, etc.
    • 2) There shall be no causes for restrictions against parcel-out approval; There shall be no problems in protecting the rights of the person with the rights to the marine bio-resource in question; The applicant shall have the necessary facilities, equipment, etc. to utilize the marine bio-resource, etc.
  • Joint acquisition by Korean citizen(s) and foreigner(s)

    Matters related to the permission1) that foreigners, etc. need to obtain in case of jointly acquiring marine bio-resources with a citizen or national agency of the Republic of Korea through delegation, consignment, or a contract, etc.

    • Foreigners, etc. wishing to obtain permission for acquisition must submit to the Minister of Oceans and Fisheries a joint acquisition permission application form2) at least 6 months3) prior to the scheduled date of acquisition. The Minister of Oceans and Fisheries should issue a permit after determining whether to grant permission after consulting with the heads of the relevant administrative agencies.
    • 01
      Joint acquisition by Korean citizen(s) and foreigner(s) Apply for permission
    • 02
      Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries Receive and review the application form and request opinions from relevant entities
    • 03
      Relevant administrative agency Review the application form and provide an opinion
    • 04
      Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries Issue a permit
    • 05
      Joint acquisition by Korean citizen(s) and foreigner(s) Acquire the resource

    appendix

    • 1) Article 12 of the Act on Securing, Management, and Use of Marine Bio-Resources
    • 2) (Attached documents) 20 copies of the survey plan, 1 copy of a document related to the delegation, consignment, or contract, etc. relating to the joint acquisition, 1 copy of the plan for using the marine bio-resource(s), etc.
    • 3) If permission, approval, etc. was granted by the Minister of Oceans and Fisheries in accordance with another law or a treaty with the Korean government, it must be submitted at least 1 month prior to the scheduled date of acquisition.
  • Foreigners

    Matters related to the permission1) that a foreigner or international body needs to obtain in case they wish to acquire a marine bio-resource for research, development, production, commercial use, etc. of the marine bio-resource

    • Foreigners, etc. wishing to obtain permission for acquisition must submit to the Minister of Oceans and Fisheries a joint acquisition permission application form2) at least 6 months3) prior to the scheduled date of acquisition. The Minister of Oceans and Fisheries should issue a permit after determining whether to grant permission after consulting with the heads of the relevant administrative agencies.
    • 01
      Foreigner, etc. Acquire the resource
    • 02
      Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries Receive and review the application form and request opinions from relevant entities
    • 03
      Relevant administrative agency Review the application form and provide an opinion
    • 04
      Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries Issue a permit
    • 05
      Foreigner, etc. Acquire the resource

    appendix

    • 1) Article 11 of the Act on Securing, Management, and Use of Marine Bio-Resources
    • 2) (Attached documents) 20 copies of the survey plan, 1 copy of a document related to the delegation, consignment, or contract, etc. relating to the joint acquisition, 1 copy of the plan for using the marine bio-resource(s), etc.
    • 3) If permission, approval, etc. was granted by the Minister of Oceans and Fisheries in accordance with another law or a treaty with the Korean government, it must be submitted at least 1 month prior to the scheduled date of acquisition.
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