At a virtual signing ceremony, the two countries signed an MoU on Cooperation for Migrant Fishermen Working on board Korean Coastal Fishing Vessels above 20 tons

The Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries (MOF; Minister MOON, Seong-Hyeok) announced on Monday 31 May that Korea signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Indonesia to foster bilateral cooperation in the fields of employment and labor affairs of Indonesian fisherman working on board Korean coastal fishing vessels weighing 20 tons or more. 

  ▶The MoU is a follow-up to the Guideline on Ways to Protect the Human Rights of Migrant Fisherman and Improve its Management System released by the MOF in June 2020.

The MoU was signed by Korean Minister of Oceans and Fisheries MOON, Seong-Hyeok and Indonesian Minister of Manpower Ida Fauziyah during a virtual ceremony held concurrently at Sejong and Jakarta. The Republic of Indonesia (ROI) has been a major cooperation partner* of the Republic of Korea (ROK) in a broad range of areas since the diplomatic relations was established in 1973, as can be seen from the relations further elevated to a ‘Special Strategic Partnership’ in 2017. Notably, migrant fishermen from Indonesia, one of the largest seafarer supply countries**, have played a pivotal role in the development of Korea’s fisheries industry, placing greater emphasis on the need for deeper cooperation for migrant fishermen.
* ROK was the ROI’s 7th largest trading partner while ROI was the ROK’s 12th largest trading partner in 2018.
** Major Seafarer Supply Countries to the ROK: Indonesia (36%), Philippines (21%),  Vietnam (21%), Myanmar (16%)

In this context, the MOF held a series of working-level consultations with the Indonesian Embassy in Seoul and Indonesian government ministries in Jakarta, including the Ministry of Manpower, Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries, and Ministry of Transportation, from June 2020 to February 2021 to finalize the text of the MoU.

  ▶ The MoU showcases the first mutually beneficial cooperation model on the recruitment and placement process under a government-to-government (G2G) cooperation scheme.  

The MoU focuses on several key areas of collaboration, including △ the establishment of recruitment and placement mechanisms under a government-to-government (G2G) cooperation scheme, △ the operation of a dedicated training center for Indonesian fishermen, and △ the conducting of working-level meetings on a regular basis.  

According to this MoU, the two countries will designate agencies to undertake the recruitment process and training for Indonesian fishermen with a view to tackling excessively charging placement fees on fishermen and enhancing the transparency and scrutiny throughout the entire process. With this MoU, it is expected that the concerns for human rights violations to migrant fishermen will be alleviated to some extent.

Furthermore, as a follow-up arrangement to this MoU, an Implementing Arrangement will be developed to set out placement and protection mechanisms in detail to ensure safe working conditions and human rights protection for Indonesian fishermen.
* The Implementing Arrangement will specify ①Agencies to send and receive Indonesian fishermen, ②Placement fees, ③Local recruitment protocols, ④Training center for pre-departure training, ⑤Anti-corruption and the prevention of illegal stay, and more.

After the signing ceremony, Korean Minister of Oceans and Fisheries MOON, Seong-Hyeok said, “Under this MoU, a government-driven recruitment and placement system will be put into place so as to promote transparency and scrutiny in the entire process, which were pointed out as areas of improvement for the Foreign Seafarers Systems. We will continuously put forward a mutually beneficial cooperation model on migrant fishermen which further boosts friendly and cooperative ties,” and added that “Going beyond the Republic of Indonesia, we will gradually expand our cooperation on fishermen to other fishermen supply countries such as Vietnam.”

At the same time, the MOF will continue to monitor working conditions for national fishermen and examine associated policies to improve their labor conditions and welfare as well as ensure the protection of their basic rights and interests, with the ultimate goal of encouraging them to view their job as a long-term career.