Genus Phoca Linnaeus, 1758

In Korea, two species, P. largha and P. vitulina have been listed in the North Pacific Ocean. Since P. largha was initially classified as a subspecies of P. vitulina, the name P. vitulina has been frequently used for P. largha . Also, the Korean common names for the two species (both called ‘spotted’ seals) led to further confusion, with P. vitulina erroneously recorded for P. largha . The South Korean government designated P. vitulina an Endangered Species in 1997 and a Protected Marine Species in 2007 but delisted P. vitulina from both lists in 2012 due to absence of records in the waters of Korea.