"3,000 Needed but Only 69 Arrived... Foreign Seafarers Desperately Needed"

Suhyup Urges Government to "Resume Entry Measures for Foreign Seafarers"

[Sejong=Asia Economy Reporter Moon Chaeseok] The National Federation of Fisheries Cooperatives (Suhyup) urged the government on the 2nd to resume the entry of foreign seafarers, citing the worsening labor shortage in fishing villages due to the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic.

On the same day, Suhyup requested the government to "allow entry of foreign seafarers regardless of the quarantine level of the respective country, provided conditions such as completion of vaccination, negative PCR test confirmation, and extension of self-quarantine period are met."

Suhyup claimed, "The labor shortage faced by fishing villages has become very severe due to restrictions on the entry of foreign workers."

According to Suhyup, in the first half of this year, only 69 foreign seafarers were assigned under the Employment Permit System (E-9), which is about 2.3% of the quota of 3,000.

Entry through the Foreign Seafarer System (E-10), which had been relatively smoother than the Employment Permit System, has also faced setbacks since the second half of the year due to the complete suspension of visa issuance operations in major sending countries such as Indonesia.

The Employment Permit System allows hiring personnel working on fishing vessels under 20 tons and in aquaculture farms, while the Foreign Seafarer System permits hiring seafarers working on fishing vessels over 20 tons.

Suhyup stated, "While the demand for foreign labor in frontline fishing villages under the Employment Permit System is estimated to be around 15,000, the actual number assigned on site is less than half of that."

They added, "As the supply of foreign labor has drastically contracted, a sense of crisis is rising among fishermen who may have to give up fishing operations amid severe labor shortages."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.