Safety rules for fishers working in Incheon’s island areas on the front lines of the West Sea will be significantly tightened starting July 1. Ongjin-gun County announced on June 15 that, under Article 24 of the Fishing Vessel Safe Operation Act, everyone aboard a fishing vessel will be required to wear a life jacket at all times when on an exposed deck beginning that day. The measure reflects the nature of the fishing environment, where accidents at sea can lead directly to loss of life, and turns the wearing of life jackets — until now only a recommendation — into a legal obligation.
 [The Korean Today] Notice on the implementation of mandatory at-all-times life jacket wearing for fishing crews in Ongjin-gun © Reporter Kim Mi-hee |
The core aim of the new system is to minimize casualties such as deaths and disappearances when accidents occur and to create a safe operating environment. The responsibility to wear a life jacket does not fall on ordinary crew members alone. Captains who command the vessels are also given both a direct obligation to wear one and the responsibility to manage whether all those aboard are wearing them. Foreign crew members serving on domestic fishing vessels are subject to the same standards as Korean nationals, meaning that, in effect, everyone who steps onto the deck falls under the rule.
Fines imposed for failing to comply rise in stages depending on the number of violations. A first offense carries a fine of 900,000 won, a second 1.5 million won, and a third 3 million won. The system is designed so that the level of sanctions climbs steeply with repeated violations, instilling a sense of caution from the early stages of the system’s implementation.
One point to note is that simply draping a life jacket over oneself is not recognized as fulfilling the obligation. Ongjin-gun explained that wearers may also be subject to enforcement if the buckles are not fastened, if the jacket is worn loosely without being snug against the body, or if a damaged or underperforming life jacket is used. The aim is to prevent improper wearing that fails to function in an actual accident, and fishers are urged to pay close attention.
Enforcement will also begin in earnest. To ensure the early establishment of the system, the West Sea Fisheries Management Service and the Coast Guard plan to strengthen on-site enforcement of life jacket non-compliance starting July 1. In line with this, Ongjin-gun plans to actively inform fishers in the county of the mandatory wearing requirement while continuing field-centered guidance in cooperation with the fisheries cooperative (Suhyup) and each township office.
An Ongjin-gun official asked, “Wearing a life jacket is not a formality to avoid enforcement but an essential safety rule for protecting lives,” adding, “We ask that all fishers be sure to wear their life jackets for safe operations.” Given the characteristics of fishers in the Ongjin area, whose livelihoods are rooted in the islands and the sea, attention is focused on whether this mandate can take root as a culture of safety in the field.
[ Reporter Kim Mi-hee: incheonsouth@thekoreantoday.com ]
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