외국인 어선원에 관한 노동법상 쟁점과 과제

The maritime and fisheries sector is a representative industry that Koreans tend to avoid. As the number of Korean seafarers declines, dependance on foreign seafarers has been steadily increasing. The Seafarers Act excludes “fishing vessels with a total tonnage of less than 20 tons, as prescribed by the Ordinance of the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries” from its scope of application (Article 3). As a result, significant disparities in working conditions can arise depending on whether or not the Act applies. When foreign fishers work on Korean-flagged vessels, differences in working conditions by nationality may also occur to cause a problem. Although the number of foreign fishing vessel crew is expected to grow, the relevant legal framework remains insufficiently developed. Urgent efforts are needed to establish standards and principles governing foreign fishers and to improve the legislative framework, taking into account demographic shifts in Korea’s labor force, the need to prepare for a shift in the labor market where foreign worker exporting nations are at an advantage over the foreign worker importing nations, and mid- to long-term strategies for sustaining the maritime and fisheries industry. Korea’s legal system is highly passive in establishing a protection system for fishing vessel crew. In particular, fishers working on vessels under 20 tons fall into the blind spot of both the Seafarers Act and the Labor Standards Act, therefore they are not subject to the standards governing working conditions, nor are they being protected by proper labor inspection. The rapid emergence of a shortage of fishers appears to stem from this structural problem. Simply supplying foreign workers cannot effectively resolve the issue. The essential solution is to improve the working conditions of all fishing vessel crew. Unless the relevant legal system is urgently reformed, Korea may lose the opportunity to revive its fishing industry. Discussions on foreign fishing crew can create an opportunity to improve the working conditions of all fishing crew, who have long been excluded from labor protection standards. In other words, the effect of improving the working conditions of foreign workers can also extend to Korean workers in the fisheries industry. From this point of view, this study examined the current status of domestic seafarers (including fishing vessel crew), together with the relevant legal and institutional framework, and on that basis analyzed the legal issues concerning foreign fishing crew as well as legislative and policy challenges for reform.