West Sea Coast Guard Agency, Special Crackdown on Human Rights Violations of Maritime Workers

Labor Exploitation of Disabled Workers, Foreign Seafarers, and Others at Aquaculture Farms in Island Areas

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Seo Young-seo] The Seohae Regional Maritime Police Agency (Chief Yoon Byung-doo) announced that from the 17th of this month to the 11th of next month, they will form a crackdown team for 4 weeks to focus on cracking down on human rights violations against socially vulnerable groups such as disabled people in island areas and foreign crew members who are in blind spots of human rights.

The crackdown targets include acts such as kidnapping, confinement, assault, and wage extortion of disabled persons at island area fish farms and salt fields, human rights violations against foreign crew members, ignoring requests for disembarkation of crew members on long-term fishing vessels, and forcibly keeping them on board.

The maritime police plan to conduct on-site investigations in cooperation with disabled persons’ human rights organizations during this crackdown period, and a trusted person will accompany the investigation.

Looking at major arrests last year, in May last year, two people (a married couple), including Mr. C (54 years old), were arrested on charges of exploiting wages (about 180 million KRW) for about 16 years and even welfare benefits such as disability pensions (about 100 million KRW) after employing Mr. D (48 years old, level 2 intellectual disability) as a worker at a cage fish farm in Jeonnam.

A representative of the Seohae Regional Maritime Police Agency said, “We ask for active reporting when witnessing human rights violations such as abuse of disabled persons at fish farms and salt fields in island areas or assault on foreign crew members on fishing vessels.”

Meanwhile, the Seohae Regional Maritime Police Agency conducted two special crackdowns on human rights offenders targeting maritime workers in the first and second halves of last year, arresting 50 people in 33 cases.

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