1. Reasons for Amendment

The Aquatic Organism Disease Control Act was amended (Act No. 19499; promulgated on June 20, 2023; to be enforced on June 21, 2024) to allow Si, Gun, and autonomous Gu areas to appoint aquatic organism disease control officers for stronger prevention of outbreaks and the spread of aquatic organism diseases, and to allow persons operating a facility for cultivating, processing, or storing aquatic organisms or products therefrom to register the facility concerned with the Minister of Oceans and Fisheries in order to comply with import quarantine inspection requirements of the export destination country. Accordingly, this Amendment prescribes detailed standards and procedures for the registration of facilities for producing aquatic organisms for export as well as other matters delegated by the Act and matters necessary for the enforcement thereof, while also designating additional amphibian diseases as contagious aquatic organism diseases and otherwise addressing and improving upon a number of weaknesses that have emerged from the operation of the current system.

2. Major Provisions

A. Designate additional amphibian diseases (Article 2)

2) Designate amphibian chytridiomycosis, salamander chytridiomycosis, and ranavirus disease, which are WHO-designated amphibian diseases, as contagious aquatic organism diseases.

B. Appointment and duties of aquatic organism disease controllers (Article 13)

2) Allow the appointment of aquatic organism disease controllers by heads of administrative offices as well as their affiliated public officials, and prescribe grounds to pay for travel costs and expenses incurred during the course of work when commissioned by a private individual other than an affiliated public official.

C. Method of disease identification by disease identification institutions (Article 14-2 newly inserted)

2) Prescribe that matters necessary for the method of disease identification shall be the subject of disease identification, disease identification institution, method of requesting or applying for disease identification, diseases subject to close identification, disease identification procedure, and measures to address disease identification results, and prescribe that other necessary matters shall be determined and publicly announced by the Director General of the National Fisheries Products Quality Management Service.

D. Designation standards and procedure for disease identification institutions (Article 14-3 newly inserted)

2) Prescribe that matters necessary for the designation standards and procedure for disease identification institutions shall include an application for designation of a disease identification institution, on-site survey and evaluation, designation and modification, education and supervision, management of testing capabilities, and support, and prescribe that other necessary matters shall be determined and publicly announced by the Director General of the National Fisheries Products Quality Management Service.

E. Scope of epidemiological investigations, etc. (Article 14-2 relocated, Article 15)

2) Merge Article 14-2 (Aquatic Organism Diseases Subject to Epidemiological Investigations) and Article 15 (Epidemiological Investigations) of the Enforcement Rule into Article 15.

F. Registration of facilities for producing aquatic organisms for export, etc. (Article 23-2 newly inserted)

2) Prescribe control procedures for the registration, revocation, etc. of facilities for producing aquatic organisms for export.

G. Modify measures for objects prohibited from import, etc. (Article 27)

2) Prescribe that when an aquatic organism quarantine officer finds that a designated quarantine item is a prohibited import, he/she shall issue an order to return, incinerate, bury, dispose of, etc. the item. 

H. Registration of overseas production facilities for aquatic organisms (Article 27-2 newly inserted)

2) Prescribe procedures used to apply for registration, register changes, etc. to manage overseas production facilities for aquatic organisms. 

I. On-site inspections of overseas production facilities for aquatic organisms (Article 27-3 newly inserted)

2) Prescribe that when planning to conduct an on-site inspection of an overseas production facility for aquatic organisms, the on-site inspection plan shall be communicated to and discussed with the government of the exporting country, and that details concerning on-site investigations shall be determined by the Director General of the National Fisheries Products Quality Management Service.

J. Suspension of import, etc. (Article 27-4 newly inserted)

2) Prescribe that when a suspension of import is imposed or lifted on an overseas production facility for aquatic organisms that poses a risk of an outbreak or spread of an aquatic organism disease, the relevant grounds, start date, etc. shall be communicated in writing to the facility operator via the exporting country. 

K. Expand toxic/hazardous substance testing agencies (Article 29)

2) Allow testing and inspection agencies specified in the Act on Testing and Inspection in the Food and Drug Industry to be commissioned to conduct tests for toxic/hazardous substances where desired by an applicant.

L. Modify application documents for import quarantine inspections (Article 30)

2) Improve the import quarantine inspection procedure for ease of understanding by clarifying which of the documents submitted for import quarantine inspections may be submitted as a copy of the original, and prescribing that a certificate of weight shall be submitted only when requested by a quarantine officer.

M. Improve the import quarantine inspection application procedure (Article 34)

2) Allow any facility for producing aquatic organisms for export that has been registered and has undergone disease monitoring to be exempt from close examination for import quarantine inspections of designated quarantine items. Improve provisions to allow the omission of attachments to import quarantine inspection applications that can be viewed as electronic documents.

N. Improve the quarantine area designation application procedure (Article 35)

2) Simplify the application procedure by prescribing that when applying for quarantine area designation, the application form and required documents may be submitted in the form of electronic documents, and by allowing public officials to directly access documents that may be viewed through the Public Information Sharing System.

O. Prescribe grounds to request information to confirm closure of business, etc. (Article 35-3)

2) Prescribe grounds to request business closure information from the competent tax office of any quarantine area whose operation is suspended due to closure of business, etc.

P. Improve the import risk analysis procedure (Article 37)

2) Allow the import risk analysis to be conducted after taking emergency measures, such as import restrictions, when urgently necessary in order to prevent the cross-border entry of aquatic organism diseases, and update the English name of the World Organization for Animal Health.

Q. Newly insert matters to be stated in medical charts and autopsy records, and methods for retaining such records, etc. (Article 37-10)

2) Prescribe that an aquatic organism disease inspector shall fill in medical charts and necropsy records, and the original copy shall be kept at the aquatic organism disease inspection center for 1 year.

R. Combine the forms used to register the establishment of and changes to aquatic organism disease inspection centers (Article 37-11)

2) Combine the forms used to register the establishment of and changes to aquatic organism disease inspection centers.

S. Newly insert fee exemptions (Article 44-2 newly inserted)

2) Newly insert provisions to allow disease identification fees to be waived when disease identification is requested by the state or a local government, and to allow quarantine fees to be waived when a facility for producing aquatic organisms for export is registered or when the method of import quarantine inspection is modified as deemed necessary by an aquatic organism quarantine officer.