U.S. State Department’s Human Trafficking Report returns to level 1 after two years.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Minister Cho Tae-yeol) said that in the 2024 Trafficking in Persons Report published by the U.S. State Department on June 24 (local time), Korea’s rating was raised from Grade 2 (2023) to Grade 1. revealed.
※ U.S. State Department Report on Trafficking in Persons
– The U.S. Department of State submits a report to Congress every year on the status of each country’s response to human trafficking in accordance with the Trafficking Victims Protection Act
– This report compares each country to the standards and related efforts under the Trafficking Victims Protection Act. Classify into levels (Level 1, Level 2, Level 2 Caution, Level 3, etc.) and provide recommendations for each country.
The U.S. Department of State’s Trafficking in Persons Report evaluates each country’s response to human trafficking from April 1 to March 31 of the following year. Our country maintained Grade 1 from 2002 to 2021, but was evaluated as Grade 2 in the 2022 report that evaluated the period from April 1, 2021 to March 31, 2022. This evaluation is the result of the U.S. State Department determining that the Korean government’s efforts to respond to human trafficking at the time were not sufficiently serious and consistent, even considering factors such as COVID-19.
The fact that Korea rose to the first level in two years can be seen as the result of the government’s faithful response to human trafficking and efforts to protect victims since the enforcement of the Act on Prevention of Trafficking in Persons and Protection of Victims in 2023. During this period, the government has strengthened the institutional foundation for responding to human trafficking crimes and protecting victims at a government-wide level, and has also actively cooperated with civil society. In addition, it is evaluated that it contributed to this rating upgrade by actively explaining these efforts and achievements to the U.S. government and communicating closely with them.
Accordingly, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that it plans to strengthen its efforts to respond to human trafficking through continued cooperation between relevant ministries with the aim of leading the promotion of universal values such as human rights and democracy.
Editor. Seyoung Hong
