Dongwon Tuna
Lacks transparency. Publishes some details, but doesn't show its workers are paid and treated fairly.
Last researched 23 October 2026 · 10 sources
South Korea's leading canned tuna brand, made by Dongwon F&B.
Until Dongwon Tuna traces its fish and seafood to the boat or farm and has the conditions of the people who catch or farm it checked independently, it can't show that they are free and fairly paid.
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Why it's graded Lacks transparency
- Not met: Meets 2 of 6 Good requirements.
- Holds the grade back: It relies on fish and seafood that it can't trace to the boat or farm. That alone means a poor grade until it takes steps to trace it and check the conditions of the people who catch or farm it.
- It isn't Harm on record, because there's no serious confirmed problem on its record.
- Lacks transparency is still a poor grade: in supply chains like this, workers who can't be seen to be treated fairly are usually underpaid or unprotected.
Good requirements 2 of 6
- Not met: Pays a living wage, or holds a strong fair-pay certificationLiving wage: no evidence
- Not met: Respects worker rightsMost of its products are made in countries such as South Korea and Thailand, where unions are heavily restricted, and it has no full supply chain audit.
- Not met: Supply chain independently audited or certified, or at least 80% made in countries with strong labour standards
- Met: No child or forced labour findings or links
- Met: Names the factories or farms that make its products, or is fully certified by a scheme that holds and audits that listMakes its products in its own factories
- Not met: Traces its catch to the boat or farm and has crews' or farm workers' conditions checked independently
Red flags 3
- Red flag: No evidence it pays a living wage
- Red flag: Made mostly in countries with poor worker rights, without a full independent audit of its supply chain
- Red flag: Relies on fish and seafood it can't trace to the boat or farm
- Red flag: Fails its category's raw-material check (means Lacks transparency)
Stars it would earn as Good
None yet. Stars only show on Good companies. About stars
Where it's made
From press and retailer reports. Dongwon Tuna makes its products in its own factories, but we haven't recorded its countries from it yet. The rest is shown as where fish and seafood are usually processed.
| Country | Worker rights | Legal minimum wage | Forced labour risk |
|---|---|---|---|
| South Korea | No guarantee of rights | Close to a living wage | Low |
| ThailandUsual for the industry | No guarantee of rights | Below a living wage | Moderate |
| ChinaUsual for the industry | No guarantee of rights | Below a living wage | Moderate |
| VietnamUsual for the industry | Systematic violations | Well below a living wage | Moderate |
| IndonesiaUsual for the industry | No guarantee of rights | Well below a living wage | Moderate |
| IndiaUsual for the industry | No guarantee of rights | Well below a living wage | High |
| AustraliaUsual for the industry | Strong protections | About a living wage | Low |
| EcuadorUsual for the industry | No guarantee of rights | Well below a living wage | Moderate |
| NorwayUsual for the industry | Strong protections | About a living wage | Low |
Evidence
What we found
- Risk across the industry, not a finding about this company: fishing fleets and processing plants have some of the worst documented forced labour, including trafficked crews held at sea for years.
- Owns or runs its own production
- Relies on fish and seafood from fishing boats and farms, where crews and farm workers, often migrants recruited into debt, have been held for months or years, beaten and denied pay, out of reach of factory audits. It hasn't shown any steps to trace its fish and seafood to the boat or farm or have the conditions of the people who catch or farm it checked, so it's graded Lacks transparency until it does.
Research notes Dongwon Tuna is canned at Dongwon F&B's Changwon plant, opened in 1986 and described as Korea's largest tuna canning site. Group company Dongwon Industries runs purse-seine and longline fleets, including 12 MSC-certified purse seiners in the western Pacific, but no source says how much of the brand's tuna they catch, and no vessel list is published. Only some lines, such as MSC skipjack gift sets, carry the MSC label, and no independent checks of crews are reported. Human Rights Now (2023) reported held passports and long hours for migrant crews on Korean tuna longliners generally, without naming Dongwon vessels.
What independent sources say
| Source | Result | Details |
|---|---|---|
| News reporting and NGO investigations | Listed | In September 2026 Global Labor Justice reported forced labour on Taiwanese vessels supplying StarKist, a sister brand under Dongwon Industries, and a complaint went to Korea's OECD contact point; Dongwon Tuna was not named. View |
| KnowTheChain | Not covered | Neither Dongwon F&B nor Dongwon Industries is among the 45 companies in the 2026 KnowTheChain food and beverage benchmark. View |
| US Department of Labor goods lists | Not listed | Seafood from South Korea is not on the US Department of Labor's list, though seafood from Taiwan, China, Thailand, Indonesia and the Philippines is. View |
Sources and actions
Sources 10
Show all 10 sources
- Tuna in the Black Box (Human Rights Now, Dec 2023) · search the archive · Dongwon Industries is Korea's largest distant-water fishing company; migrant crews on Korean longliners reported passport confiscation and long hours
- 2026 KnowTheChain Food and Beverage Benchmark (Business & Human Rights Resource Centre) · search the archive · 45 companies assessed; Dongwon not included
- Dongwon-owned tuna fishery becomes first in South Korea to achieve MSC certification (SeafoodSource, Oct 2019) · search the archive · 12 Dongwon purse-seine vessels in the western Pacific MSC certified; landings in Korea, Thailand, Philippines, Vietnam, Ecuador and Mexico
- Migrant fishers call out StarKist in Freedom for Fishers campaign (SeafoodSource, Sept 2026) · search the archive · GLJ report on forced labour on albacore vessels supplying StarKist, a Dongwon Industries subsidiary; Korean OECD NCP involved
- [Made in Gyeongnam] Dongwon tuna production process (Gyeongnam Shinmun, March 2024) · search the archive · Dongwon F&B's Changwon plant, operating since 1986, is Korea's largest tuna can production site
- Dongwon tuna cans to debut in US market (Atuna, Oct 2025) · search the archive · Dongwon F&B is owned by Dongwon Industries, which also owns StarKist
- Fishing for a good idea, netting a hit with tuna (Korea JoongAng Daily, 2009) · search the archive · Dongwon tuna has led the Korean market since launch with over 70% share
- Dongwon Industries wins MSC Company of the Year for third time (Smart Today, April 2024) · search the archive · Dongwon Industries holds MSC certification for purse-seine and longline fishing since 2019
- Dongwon Chuseok gift sets (Kuki News, Aug 2022) · search the archive · Dongwon sells a tuna set made with MSC-certified skipjack, one line among many
- Dongwon Light Tuna with Hot Pepper Sauce 150g (ARC Asian Grocer) · search the archive · In stock at an Australian Asian grocer with a stall at Preston Market, Victoria
Company details
- Headquarters
- South Korea
- Last researched
- 23 October 2026
- Cite this page
- Labour Lens, "Is Dongwon Tuna ethical? Labour rating", https://www.labourlens.net/brand/dongwon, last researched 23 October 2026, accessed [date].
- Method
- Researched with AI assistance against published rules. How we check · What Lacks transparency means
Other canned and pouched fish brands
Nothing we've rated in canned and pouched fish is better than Lacks transparency yet.
Something missing or wrong?
Grades are opinions based on the evidence listed here. Send us evidence, or a right of reply if you represent Dongwon Tuna.