"Gender Imbalance in Boarding Practice Must Be Improved"… Partial Acceptance of Human Rights Commission Recommendation

[Asia Economy Reporter Seongpil Cho] The National Human Rights Commission announced on the 9th that the Minister of Oceans and Fisheries and the president of A Maritime University only partially accepted the recommendation to improve the ratio of female students selected for onboard training to be equal to that of male students.

Earlier, the Human Rights Commission investigated a complaint that A University’s gender ratio difference in field training, conducted by a private shipping company on consignment, caused employment disadvantages. In May, it issued a corrective recommendation to the president of A University to seek ways to balance the gender ratio. The Minister of Oceans and Fisheries was advised to inspect the status of domestic ship facilities to implement practical improvements for female seafarers’ boarding and to establish gender statistics for licensed maritime officers.

According to the Human Rights Commission, the president of A University responded in June that they would cooperate with shipping companies, the Korea Shipping Association, and related organizations to implement the Commission’s recommendations and support the career paths of female students wishing for non-boarding employment. They also pledged to cooperate in revising the Seafarers Act and the Ship Staff Act, which restrict the hiring of female maritime officers. The Minister of Oceans and Fisheries also replied that they plan to inspect the status of domestic ship facilities and establish gender statistics for seafarers.

However, the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries and A University also conveyed to the Human Rights Commission their opinion that difficulties are expected if the recommendations are implemented. They argued, "Expanding female students’ field training could pose a management risk to shipping companies and may lead to the complete abolition of the onboard training system." They also stated that training female maritime officers with short onboard periods could exacerbate the future shortage of senior seafarers. Furthermore, they claimed, "Maritime officer duties are tasks that women with weaker physical strength cannot perform, and due to work restriction regulations for women, a significant portion of the work is transferred to men, which could result in reverse discrimination against male maritime officers."

The Human Rights Commission criticized this response, stating, "They have failed to properly recognize the purpose of the Commission’s recommendation to eliminate gender discrimination in education processes such as onboard training and instead represent the interests of shipping companies." The Commission stated, "Although the president of A University and the Minister of Oceans and Fisheries partially accepted the recommendation, they submitted opinions revealing gender-discriminatory perceptions. Since the recommended institutions are responsible for protecting and promoting the fundamental rights of the public, submitting such opinions makes it difficult to consider that they fully accepted the recommendation."

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