Lacks transparency. Publishes some details, but doesn't show its workers are paid and treated fairly.
Last researched 23 October 2026 · 9 sources
Korean canned tuna and seafood brand of fishing group Sajo Industries.
Unsafe working conditions were documented in Sajo's supply chain in 2014, which it has only partly put right, and it has no full independent audit.
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Why it's graded Lacks transparency
- Not met: Meets 2 of 6 Good requirements.
- Holds the grade back: It has 4 red flags: no evidence of a living wage, clear breaches of labour conditions, unaudited production in high-risk countries and fish and seafood it can't trace to the boat or farm. Two or more red flags means a poor grade.
- It isn't Harm on record: the most serious problem on its record (unsafe conditions, last recorded in 2014) is more than 5 years old.
- 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 rightsA confirmed problem counts against it: unsafe conditions, last recorded in 2014
- Not met: Supply chain independently audited or certified, or at least 80% made in countries with strong labour standards
- Met: No confirmed child or forced labour findings or linksAn unconfirmed report of forced labour is listed below. It doesn't affect the grade.
- 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 4
- Red flag: No evidence it pays a living wageShown to explain the grade. It isn't one of the 2 red flags that set it.
- Red flag: Clear breaches of labour conditions
- 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 farmShown to explain the grade. It isn't one of the 2 red flags that set it.
- 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 Sajo's own disclosure: it makes its products in its own factories. Its list covers only part of its range. 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 Sajo canned tuna is made at Sajo Industries' own plant in Goseong, South Korea, from skipjack its label gives only as caught in the Pacific; the group's other food plants are also in Korea. The Sajo Group runs one of Korea's largest distant-water fleets (about 70 boats in 2010), but no source says how much of the brand's fish its own boats catch, and no vessel list is published. Its 28 Pacific tuna longliners gained MSC certification in 2025 and carry electronic monitoring, which covers only part of its catch. No independent checks of crews are reported, and no modern slavery statement was found.
What independent sources say
| Source | Result | Details |
|---|---|---|
| KnowTheChain | Not covered | Sajo is not among the 45 companies in the 2026 KnowTheChain food and beverage benchmark. View |
| News reporting and NGO investigations | Listed | A 2015 preliminary Korean police report found Sajo Industries' Oryong 501 was fishing in bad weather with a failed drainage system when it sank in December 2014. View |
Confirmed issues 1
Only confirmed problems are listed, and old ones drop off after 10 to 15 years. A problem the company has fully put right no longer counts against it, and nor does one it finds and is fixing itself. How problems are counted
| Last recorded | What happened | Made amends? |
|---|---|---|
| 2014 | Sajo Industries' trawler Oryong 501 sank in the Bering Sea in December 2014, leaving 27 Korean, Filipino and Indonesian crew confirmed dead and 26 missing; a preliminary police report found it was fishing in bad weather with a failed drainage system (Korea Times). Source · search the archive | PartlySajo offered families 35 million won each and called the sum non-negotiable; by February 2015 five of 11 Korean families had accepted. |
Unconfirmed reports
Credible reports that haven't been confirmed by a regulator, completed investigation or the company. They're shown for your information and don't affect the grade.
- In 2011, 32 Indonesian crew of the Oyang 75, a Sajo Group trawler, accused the company of forced labour, unpaid wages and physical and sexual abuse; the group's Oyang 70 had sunk off New Zealand in 2010, killing six (ICSF). Source
Sources and actions
Sources 9
Show all 9 sources
- 2026 KnowTheChain Food and Beverage Benchmark (Business & Human Rights Resource Centre) · search the archive · 45 companies assessed; Sajo not included
- Sajo Tuna Chunk 100g x 10 (Costco Korea) · search the archive · Made by Sajo Industries at its Goseong plant, Gyeongnam, Korea; skipjack deep-sea caught in the Pacific; sold in Korea
- Sajo Daerim business overview, March 2019 (investor presentation) · search the archive · Sajo tuna brand of Sajo Haepyo; food plants in Incheon, Ham-an and Yeongcheon, Korea; 16.7% of Korean canned tuna market in 2018
- Sajo Oyang investor presentation, November 2021 · search the archive · Group company Sajo Oyang runs tuna longliners and a tuna purse seiner for canning; plants in Korea
- From the deep sea to the pantry (Korea JoongAng Daily, 2010) · search the archive · Sajo owns about 70 deep-sea fishing boats; Sajo canned tuna competes for second place in Korea
- Sajo Industries Awarded MSC Certification for Longline Tuna (Ocean Outcomes, Feb 2025) · search the archive · 28 Sajo Pacific tuna longliners MSC certified in 2025; electronic monitoring; social risk assessment onboard
- Fishermen worked in bad weather (Korea Times, Dec 2014) · search the archive · Oryong 501, owned by Sajo Industries since 2010, sank on 1 December 2014 with 60 aboard; families say it fished in high waves
- Oryong sinking remains open sore (Korea Times, Feb 2015) · search the archive · 27 dead and 26 missing; police found fishing in bad weather and a known drainage fault; Sajo offered 35 million won per family
- Sajo Group trawler sinks in Bering Sea (ICSF) · search the archive · Oyang 70 sank off New Zealand in 2010; Oyang 75 crew alleged forced labour, unpaid wages and abuse in 2011
Company details
- Headquarters
- South Korea
- Last researched
- 23 October 2026
- Cite this page
- Labour Lens, "Is Sajo ethical? Labour rating", https://www.labourlens.net/brand/sajo, last researched 23 October 2026, accessed [date].
- Method
- Researched with AI assistance against published rules. How we check · What Lacks transparency means
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