Korean Judicial Decision

Abstract

Abstract In 2021, the National Human Rights Commission of Korea made recommendations to the Minister of Oceans and Fisheries for the promotion of human rights of migrant seafarers. In response, the Minister of Oceans and Fisheries stated that in order to improve working conditions and strengthen labor supervision, regular inspections of the working conditions of offshore fisheries (biannual) and deep-sea fisheries (quarterly) have been carried out. In 2022, the Seafarer Act was amended by introducing a new provision mandating the education on the protection of labor rights and human rights of seafarers. In 2023, the Commission reviewed and determined that the response of the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries partially accepted the recommendations. However, concerns were raised over the lack of response regarding the recommendation to establish legal standards of working conditions per Article 32 Paragraph 3 of the Constitution. The Commission is of the opinion that the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries must take on a more active role to legally guarantee migrant seafarers’ working conditions, to prevent human rights violations and discrimination against such workers, and to prevent excessive recruitment fees and unjust fees incurred by recruitment agencies to be borne by the migrant seafarers.