MOF, GS Retail Join Hands to Conserve Marine Protected Species

- Signing of MOU for cooperation in activities for underwater and climate change response research

 The Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries (MOF, Minister Kang Do-hyung) announced that it would sign a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with GS Retail on Wednesday, December 18 to promote Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) initiatives in the marine environment sector. Attending the signing ceremony are Oh Haeng-rok, Director General of Marine Environment Policy at MOF, and Kwak Chang-heon, Head of External Relations at GS Retail.

 MOF has actively cooperated with the private sector on marine environmental policies through annual forums and meetings, and signing the MOU with GS Retail—which pursues eco-friendly retail practices—is part of such efforts.

 Through this MOU, MOF and GS Retail will jointly promote activities to protect marine protected species. Activities include underwater cleanup operations to remove marine debris that poses a threat to endangered species such as sea turtles. Additionally, they will observe and research indicator species of climate change in the waters around Jeju Island, which is a critical spawning ground for sea turtles and is at the forefront of climate change impacts. Furthermore, GS Retail will launch paper bags carrying messages about conserving sea turtles and other marine protected species. These will be available at GS25 convenience stores and GS THE FRESH supermarkets nationwide starting early next year.

 “Cooperation between the government and private sector is more important than ever in overcoming the climate crisis and conserving marine protected species. I hope this MOU will lead to more diverse and effective outcomes from these efforts,” Minister Kang Do-hyung said.