Press Release

[Event] Asia Regional Forum on Solidarity and Action for Strengthening Corporate Accountability in Global Supply Chains

22 Oct, 2025
A poster for the event. Asia Regional Forum on Solidarity and Action for Strengthening Corportate Accountability in Global Supply Chains. Thursday, 30 October 2025. 10:00 AM to 5:30 PM. Small Conference Room number 2, National Assembly Members' Office Building. Opening Remarks: Importance of Asian Countries and Corporations in the Global Supply Chains. Pichamon Yeophantong, Chair of UN Working Group on Business and Human Rights. Part 1 Ground Realities: Human Rights and Environmental Abuses in Asian Supply Chains. Exposing the Battery Supply Chain: Human Rights and Environmental Harms from Indonesia to East Asia. Fisheries Under Pressure: Labor Exploitation and Environmental Violations in Regional Seafood Supply Chains. Part 2 Cross-Movement Solidarity: Confronting Corporate Power in East Asia's Supply Chains. Semiconductor Industry and Environmental/Climate Rights. Fashion Industry and Workers' Rights: Linking East and Southeast Asian Supply Chains. Part 3 Legal and Policy Landscapes: Pathways to Remedies and Structural Change. Hosts: Members of the National Assembly: Jung Taeho, Kim Taeseon, Park Jeehye, Lee Yongwoo. Organisers: KTNC Watch (Korea), Human Rights Now (Japan, TTNC Watch (Taiwan).

October 30, 2025 | National Assembly, Seoul, Republic of Korea

As transnational corporations from South Korea, Japan, and Taiwan continue to expand their operations across Asia, communities and workers in supply chains face persistent human rights and environmental harms — from forced labor and pollution to unsafe working conditions. The Asia Regional Forum on Solidarity and Action for Strengthening Corporate Accountability in Global Supply Chains brings together civil society organizations, experts, and policymakers from across East and Southeast Asia to share ground realities, strengthen regional solidarity, and discuss pathways toward effective legal and policy reforms. This gathering aims to advance collective efforts for corporate accountability, environmental justice, and the protection of human rights throughout Asia’s interconnected supply chains.

Date | 2025. 10. 30.

Time | 10:00-17:30

Location | The Second Small Conference Room in the National Assembly Hall (의원회관 제2소회의실)

Language | English and Korean

Organizers | KTNC Watch, Human Rights Now, TTNC Watch

Program |

Overall Moderator: Youngah Park (GongGam Human Rights Law Foundation)

Program timetable. Time. Session. Speakers/Moderator. 10:00-10:10. Congratulatory remarks. Lawmaker Jung Tae-ho, Park Ji-hye, Lee Yong-woo, Kim Taesun. 10:10-10:30. Opening Remarks. Importance of Asian countries and corporations in the global supply chains. Pichamon Yeophantong (Chair of UN BHR Working Group). Part 1: Ground Realities – Human Rights and Environmental Abuses in Asian Supply Chains. Session Goal: To center the voices of affected workers and communities in sourcing countries and reveal how their struggles are structurally linked to corporations in Korea, Japan, and Taiwan. By connecting lived realities with corporate responsibilities, the session aims to expose systemic abuses and frame the urgency of accountability.10:30-11:20. Exposing the Battery Supply Chain: Human Rights and Environmental Harms from Indonesia to East Asia. Moderator: Fuad Abdulgani (SAFETY). Pius Ginting (Aksi Ekologi & Emansipasi Rakyat, Indonesia) – On-the-ground realities of human rights and environmental harms in the Indonesian nickel mining industry. HyeLyn Kim (CORI, Korea) – Corporate links and responsibilities of Korean companies in the battery supply chain. Shigeru Tanaka (PARC, Japan) – Japanese corporate involvement in battery-related human rights and environmental issues. Hsin Hsuan Sun (ERF, Taiwan) – Taiwanese companies’ role and accountability in the regional battery supply chain. 11:20-12:10. Fisheries Under Pressure: Labor Exploitation and Environmental Violations in Regional Seafood Supply Chains. Moderator: Daniel Awigra (Human Rights Working Group). Azizah Hapsari (Independent Consultant, Indonesia) – Labor conditions and exploitation in Southeast Asian fisheries supply chains. Momori Nakagawa (HRN, Japan) – Japan’s role and legal/policy responses in the fisheries sector. Yi-Hsiang Shih (TAHR, Taiwan) – Taiwan’s supply chain connections and responses to fisheries labor and environmental abuses. Shin Young Chung (APIL, Korea) – Korea’s fisheries supply chain and regulatory framework.
Lunch 12:10-13:20. Part 2: Cross-Movement Solidarity – Confronting Corporate Power in East Asia’s Supply Chains. Session Goal: To examine how diverse movements—including climate justice, labor rights, and democratic struggles—can work together to challenge corporate power in East Asia’s supply chains. Through case studies from the semiconductor and fashion industries, the session will identify intersections among environmental, political, and labor harms and explore strategies for building solidarity and systemic change. 13:20-14:20. Semiconductor industry and environmental/climate rights rights. Moderator: Ye Yint (Asia Monitor Resource Centre, program coordinator). Youngeun Kwon (Sharps, Korea) – Worker health, occupational disease, and semiconductor accountability campaigns. Hunseok Lee (Energy Justice Action, Korea) – Environmental and climate impacts of the semiconductor industry. Mark Hsu (ERF, Taiwan) – Perspectives on Taiwan’s semiconductor supply chain and climate implications. Shigeru Tanaka (PARC, Japan) – Japan’s role in semiconductor supply chains and environmental justice campaigns. Eleanor Roque De Guzman (Good Electronics, Philippines) – Regional advocacy for worker and environmental rights in the electronics sector. 14:20- 15:00. Fashion Industry and Workers’ Rights : Linking East and Southeast Asian Supply Chains. Moderator: Hyunjun Yang (SNU Law Public Interest & Legal Clinic Center). Roy Ngerng (Clean Clothes Campaign) – Labor rights violations in Myanmar’s garment industry post-coup, with a focus on Taiwanese and Korean factory ownership. HyunPhil Na (KHIS, Korea) – Working conditions in Southeast Asian garment factories supplying Korean corporations. Yuri Sato (HRN, Japan) – Case study on Japanese company Honeys’ operations in Myanmar and related accountability campaigns. Coffee Break 15:00-15:30.
Part 3: Legal and Policy Landscape – Pathways to Remedies and Structural Change. Session Goal: To assess current legal and policy frameworks in Asian countries that address business-related human rights and environmental harms, and to identify both their limitations and potential. The session will highlight pathways for law reform, stronger transnational remedy mechanisms, and regional collaboration toward binding accountability standards. 15:30-17:20. Country Reports on  Legal and Policy Frameworks Addressing Adverse Impacts by Business. Moderator: Youngchul Park (Ulsan HR Movement Solidarity). Yujung Shin (Korea) – Korea’s legal and policy developments, including mHREDD and forced labor import bans. Ryutaro Ogawa (Japan) – Japan’s regulatory frameworks and limitations in addressing supply chain human rights issues. Po-Cheng Lin (Taiwan) – Taiwan’s due diligence and outbound investment regulation landscape. Neïla Mangin Maïza (Thailand) – Thailand’s developments on human rights due diligence frameworks. Taesung Park (National Human Rights Commission of Korea) – The role of human rights commissions in strengthening supply chain accountability. Piseth Duch (Business & Human Rights Resource Centre) – Strengthening regional collaboration and transnational advocacy across Asia. 17:20-17:30. Closing Remarks. 18:00-. Dinner.
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