Being tricked onto a distant-water fishing vessel or forced to send wages to a broker can constitute human trafficking

A migrant worker who thinks he has accepted a basic fishing job but ends up on a distant-water vessel may be a victim of human trafficking. So may a worker forced to send wages to a broker. South Korea is making those situations explicit in revised criteria that take effect on the 3rd.

The Ministry of Gender Equality and Family announced the changes on the 2nd. Developed with the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries, the revised indicators will help investigators and inspectors identify and protect migrant workers facing forced labor in the fishing industry. The indicators operate under the law on preventing human trafficking and protecting victims.

The revision reflects conditions on distant-water vessels, fish farms and salt fields, as well as different forms of employment. It expands the examples of economic control, including high-interest loan contracts and arrangements that prevent workers from reviewing a contract in a language they understand before starting work.

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The fishing industry often involves work on ships or at isolated workplaces that can be cut off from the outside, making it difficult for abuses to come to light and creating a risk that workers’ vulnerable positions will be exploited for forced labor.

It also adds physical and emotional control indicators. These include detaining workers before they board, preventing them from using communication devices on board, placing someone who expected simple fishing work on a distant-water vessel, and monitoring contact with outside organizations. The ministry said workers in ships and isolated workplaces can remain cut off from the outside world, making abuse difficult to expose.

Under South Korea’s Criminal Act, trafficking for labor exploitation carries a prison sentence of two to 15 years. Officials said victims identified through the new criteria can receive state support, including living and medical assistance. Kim Seong-cheol, a policy official at the ministry, said the revised indicators should help authorities examine warning signs more closely and provide protection at an earlier stage.

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Through this revision, we will do our utmost to examine signs of harm more closely in the field, identify victims early and protect them.