Officials of the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries and foreign national fishermen exchange opinions during a meeting held in the first half of 2021. Courtesy of Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries

By Lee Kyung-min

A group comprised of the government, vessel operators and fishermen's unions will conduct a survey and on-site inspections on deep-sea fishing vessels over the next month, in an effort to improve the human rights and working conditions of fishermen of foreign nationality, the oceans ministry said, Sunday.

These efforts are part of a regular biannual inspection by the ministry led by 11 local maritime and fishery agencies as well as crewmen and vessel owners, mostly over labor law violations involving wages and the unlawful seizing of passports.

The Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries said that workers aboard vessels of 20 tons or larger will be interviewed between Monday and June 20. Written questionnaires for the survey and interpretation for in-person interviews will be provided in the fishermen's native languages.

"The government will thoroughly conduct the survey and interviews to improve the working conditions for foreign workers in Korea," a ministry official said.