On November 6th, the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries held a Signing Ceremony for the Labor-Management-Government Joint Declaration on Innovating Jobs for National Seafarers and Maintaining National Economic Security, together with the Federation of Korean Seafarers’ Unions and Korea Shipowners’ Association at the Korea Shipowners’ Association headquarters. This joint declaration is the result of a three-month long effort by the government since its July 12th announcement of the Seafarer Job Innovation Plan, which outlined the government’s intent to launch a labor-management-government discussion to resolve the shortage of manpower in the shipping industry. The joint declaration includes details on improving  working conditions for seafarers on foreign-flagged ships, which are responsible for 99.7 percent of Korea’s trade volume and play an essential role in public livelihoods and economic security, and introducing a mandatory program to board national seafarers.