The Korean Alliance for Responsible Shipbuilding and Human Rights in Supply Chain is a coalition formed by labor safety organizations, labor unions, and business and human rights organizations to engage in proactive advocacy and action against human rights violations, such as serious disasters, occurring in the shipbuilding industry.

The shipbuilding industry is one of the most dangerous industries in the world, and Korea's shipbuilding industry in particular has experienced frequent fatal accidents. Although the system for occupational safety has been improved, including the enforcement of the Serious Accidents Punishment Act in 2022, the incidence of serious accidents in shipbuilding workplaces remains high, and most of the victims are subcontracted workers. This is due to the intensification of 'outsourcing of risk,' in which hazardous and dangerous tasks are delegated to subcontractors rather than direct employees.

Human rights abuses in the shipbuilding industry involve not only the shipbuilders (including primary contractors and subcontractors), but also ship owners and investors. These ship owners and investors bear direct or indirect responsibility for the occurrence of serious accidents, but to date, efforts to hold them accountable have not been successful.

However, recent international trends are moving toward requiring accountability for human rights abuses in supply chains, not only from companies that directly cause incidents, but also from companies that contribute to or are directly linked to these incidents. For example, in April 2024, the European Union (EU) Parliament approved the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD), which places obligations on companies operating in the EU to prevent human rights abuses in their supply chains and to provide remedies to victims. Multinational companies that order ships are also legally obligated to prevent, mitigate, and cease human rights violations in the shipbuilding supply chain in accordance with the above directive and international human rights norms.

Therefore, the Korean Alliance for Responsible Shipbuilding and Human Rights in Supply Chain aims to hold not only shipbuilders directly responsible for serious human rights violations such as serious disasters in the shipbuilding supply chain, but also the ship owners who influence the shipbuilders' work decisions, such as design and construction period changes, accountable. The Alliance ultimately seeks to contribute to improving workplace safety conditions in shipyards through pressure on ship owners, shipbuilders, and their investors.