The IUU Fishing Index is composed of 40 indicators. These indicators were grouped by state responsibilities (flag, coastal, port, and general including market) defined in the FAO IPOA-IUU (2001) and then by type into vulnerability, prevalence, and response. A total of 152 coastal nations was surveyed. Korea's total combined IUU Fishing Index was 2.49 in 2019 and 2.91 in 2021, indicating a drop in the ranking to the third worst out of 152 countries followed by China and Russia in 2021. The indicators that increased the IUU fishing risk in 2021 compared to 2019 included seven indicators of prevalence and two indicators of response while those reducing the risk included one prevalence and one response indicator. The IUU Fishing Index revealed that many fisheries observers and monitoring, control and surveillance (MCS) practitioners active in the waters of RFMOs jurisdiction where Korean distant water vessels operate have mentioned concerns about the compliance with RFMO conservation measures or fishing practices. It suggested that strengthening management intervention in the fishing sector is needed. The primary tool for management is the MCS system. Given the logistical difficulty of oversight from land, air and at-sea, there is a need to enhance MCS strategies through logbook data, at-sea observer and electronic monitoring program. It also suggested that MSC fisheries certification and fisheries improvement projects, which are widely used for improving fishing sector performance, could contribute to the eradication of IUU fishing and the promotion of sustainable distant water fisheries.