With the restriction of foreigners’ entry into Korea due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the fishery industry faced significant challenges in supplying migrant workers. In response to this, there is growing interest in methods that could facilitate the stable employment of migrant workers. This paper investigates whether the current system used for the employment of migrant workers in the fishery industry, which is highly dependent on them, adequately performs its function of providing a stable and skilled workforce amid the intensified labor shortage resulting from decreasing numbers of households with employment in the fishery and the aging Korean fishermen. To this end, past studies and government documents pertaining to the current system were analyzed, and a survey targeting the owners of offshore fishing boats that employ migrant workers was conducted. A total of 147 owners of fishing boats responded to the survey, and the data of 499 migrant workers employed by them were used for the analysis. The analysis indicated that the migrant fishermen had difficulty in acquiring minimum scores for the change of visa status according to the criteria for the Skilled Worker Points System. Furthermore, distinct differences were found between the characteristics and working conditions of migrant workers employed through the Employment Permit System (EPS) and the Foreign Seamen System. Based on this result, this paper suggests the reorganization of the skilled migrant worker system in the fishery industry and the expansion of the regional specialized visa pilot project.

We analyzed work safety risk factors, which are likely to occur during fishing in gillnet fishing vessels using the written verdict of the Korea Maritime Safety Tribunal from 2016 to 2020, and considered work safety management. Of the total of 37 fatal accidents, three cases in the East Sea, six cases in the South Sea, and 28 cases in the West Sea were very frequent. The accident rate per vessel by sea area (%) was 0.08% in East Sea, 0.12% in South Sea, and 0.40% in the West Sea. Based on the East Sea, the number of fatal accidents was 1.6 times higher in the South Sea and 5.4 times higher in the West Sea. Six cases (16.2%) occurred during departure and preparation for fishing in the fishing process, and all other 31 cases (83.8%) occurred during fishing operation. In the order of accident types, 21 cases (56.8%) of being struck by object, eight cases (21.6%) of contact with machinery and six cases (16.2%) of falls from height were found to be fatal accidents in gillnet fishery. Human factors, such as fishers’ carelessness and negligent safety management by captain accounted for 27 cases (73.0%) of the main cause, and 35 cases (94.6%) of the secondary cause. In addition to human factors such as fisher’s carelessness and negligent safety management by captain, mechanical factors, environmental factors and management factors must be improved together to reduce human casualties. These results are expected to be utilized as basic data for reducing safety accidents during the work of fishers.

Tuna purse seine fishery (TPF) constitute more than 60% of distant water fishery production in Korea based on a statistic of 2018, and 28 ships from four different companies were under operation at the western and central Pacific Ocean. On this research, common risk factors during TPF were investigated via enumeration of five years Korean fisherman’s insurance payment statement, followed by some counterplans to diminish the accident rate. The accident rate of TPF on the Pacific Ocean peaked by 43.0% in 2014 and constantly decreased to 23.0% until 2018, presenting an average of 33.6%. Meanwhile, the accident rate on the Indian Ocean reached the highest point 55.1% in 2014 and declined to 11.6% in 2016, having an average of 24.7%. The average accident rate of the Indian Ocean scored 8.9% lower than the rate of the Pacific Ocean, but no statistic significance was observed. Depending on the process of operation, ‘casting or hauling of net’ was the most frequent part that people received an injury (40.4%). When the accidents were classified by their types, ‘falling down’ was the most recurrent cause of the injuries (28.5%). At the point of severity, the worst injuries were induced by crush hazard. Considering aforementioned accident frequency and severity, all the factors on the accident type list were divided into three different groups including high risk, moderate risk, and common risk. This study is expected to contribute to the reduction of occupational accidents during the work of fishermen and establishment of a safety management system for distance water fishing vessels.

어선보험 및 어선원보험은 열악한 지위에 있는 어선소유자 및 어선원을 보호하기 위하여 어선원 및 어선 재해보상보험법에 따라 운영되는 정책보험이다. 선박충돌사고가 발생하면 어선소유자는 어선보험에서, 어선원은 어선원보험에서 먼저 보상을 받고 보험자인 수산업협동조합중앙회(이하 ‘수협중앙회’라고 한 다.)는 상대선 소유자 등에 대하여 구상을 하게 되는데, 이 경우 어선보험과 어선원보험의 특성으로 인해 다른 보험과 구별되는 여러 가지 문제점들이 야기된다. 어선보험 구상의 경우 수협중앙회의 구상권 청구에 대하여 상대선 소유자가 자신의 불가동 손실과 상계를 주장할 경우 타 선박의 불가동 손실을 보상 범위에 포함하지 않는 어선보험의 충돌배상약관과 모순되는 문제, 피보험자와의 관계에서「상법」제682조 제1항 단서에 따른 보험자 대위권 행사 범위 제한 문제, 일본과 중국 등 외국적 어선과의 충돌사고에서 이루어지는 양국 어업협회 혹은 수산회를 통한 배상협의에서 불가동 손실이 그 협의대상에서 배제되어 있는 문제 등이 제시될 수 있다. 한편 어선원보험 구상의 경우 어선원보험금 산정의 기준이 되는 임금과 손해배상에서 적용되는 임금이 상이한 문제, 손해배상소송에서 통계임금이 어선원의 실질적인 임금을 반영하지 못하는 문제, 보험금 지급시의 장해등급 평가와 소송상 신체감정의 차이에서 발생하는 문제, 어선원보험의 유족보상 수급자 인 유족 순위와 손해배상의 상속권자 순위가 다른 문제, 국민건강보험공단의 구상권과의 순위 문제 등 여러 가지 문제점이 존재한다. 어선보험 및 어선원보험과 그 구상에 대하여는 위와 같이 여러 문제가 다수 존재하고 있음에도 불구하고 논의가 많이 이루어지지 않았다. 그에 따라 법원 의 선례도 거의 없는 관계로 위에서 언급한 문제들 및 그 해결책에 대한 심도 있는 연구가 필요할 것이다.

2007년 어선원노동협약은 어선원의 근로조건, 거주설비 및 식량, 산업안전․보 건, 그리고 의료관리 및 사회보장 등 양호한 근로 및 생활 조건을 보장하고 향 상하는 데에 목적이 있다. 국제적으로 통일된 최소한의 어선원에 대한 최소의 노동기준이 채택된 것에 큰 의의가 있다. 최근 우리 정부는 어선원의 근로조건 향상을 위하여 관련 연구 용역을 수행 한 바 있으며, 협약 수용에도 많은 관심을 나타내고 있다. 이 논문에서는 수산 업계에 대한 실태와 설문분석을 하였으며, 이를 바탕으로 협약 수용 시 산업계 에 큰 영향을 미칠 수 있거나, 협약의 내용과 우리 법령의 내용의 차이가 있어 법률을 개정해야 하는 사항들을 위주로 식별하여 분석하고, 선원법령의 선원법 령의 정의규정, 적용범위, 최저연령, 휴식시간 등 입법안을 제시하였다.

In this study, the risk factors of coastal purse seine fisherman were analyzed through a survey of fishery workers of coastal purse seine fishery and the accident compensation insurance data of the fisheries workers of the National Federation of Fisheries Cooperatives (NFFC). The classified fishing operation accident data was analyzed through 4M (Man, Machine, Media, Management) model of the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) and the accident prevention measures were presented using Harvey's 3E (Engineering, Education, Enforcement) model. The rate of accidents on coastal purse seinens each year was 75.8‰, 36.7‰ and 74.8‰ from 2015 to 2017. The accident frequency resulting from slipping was the highest, and the risk of a contact with gear was low. When comparing each insurance data, the average value of the contact with gear accident was the highest. This research result is expected to be important data in identifying and preventing safety hazards of coastal purse seiner fisherman in the future.

A fisher means any person employed to provide his/her labor in a fishing vessel in exchange for a wage. There is no concept of a fisher in Seafarers Act. This act shall not apply to seafarers who are in service on board a fishing vessel the gross tonnage of which is less than 20 tons. However, of the total 63,112 fishing vessels, only 2,829 fishing vessels have a total tonnage of more than 20 tons. Fishermen engaged in fishing vessels with a gross tonnage of which is less than 20 tons are not guaranteed to be paid arrears through the Wage Claim Guarantee Fund for Seafarer (Article 56). In addition, fishermen working on a fishing vessel are excluded from the Wage claim Guarantee Act. The Labor Standards Act shall apply to fishermen engaged in fishing vessels with a gross tonnage of which is less than 20 tons. Fishermen and seafarers are at a higher risk of living security than regular workers. Guaranteeing the payment of wages is essential for fishermen to improve the life and employment stability. In order to guarantee fisher wage claims, the concept of a fisher in the Seafarers Act must be realized by sources such as the Wage Claim Guarantee Fund of Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries, step by step expansion of members in the wage claim guarantee fund for seafarers and interest for delayed payment of wages, etc.

우리나라는 세계적인 해운국이자 수산국임에도 불구하고, 최근 선원의 인권 침해에 대한 문제가 지속적으로 조사·보도되고 있다. 특히, 이주 어선원들의 인 권침해 문제는 심각한 수준이다. 국제연합의 인신매매방지의정서 상의 인신매매의 정의는 한국 사회에서 일반적으로 생각하는 ‘사람을 물건처럼 사고파는 것’과는 개념이 다르다. 인신매 매방지의정서 상의 개념은 사기, 강박, 피해자의 지위나 환경 등을 이용하여 성 이나 노동력 등을 착취하는 것을 인신매매로 보고 있다. 현재 이주어선원들의 인권침해 보고서 상에 있는 사례의 수준이라면, 우리나라는 인신매매의 경로국 이자 종착지이다. 미국은 인신매매예방을 위하여 매년 인신매매보고서를 발간하고 있으며, 전 세계 191개국을 조사·평가하여 등급을 정하고 인신매매예방 활동이 취약한 국 가를 3등급으로 지정하여 경제적 제재조치를 가하고 있다. 우리나라는 1등급 국가이지만, 매 년 어선원 문제의 개선에 대해서 지적을 받고 있는 실정이다. 이에 대한 실질적인 개선조치가 없다면 언제든지 2등급 국가로 떨어질 수 있기 때문에 이 분야의 종사자들은 경각심을 가져야 한다. 이 논문에서는 인신매매에 대한 개념을 이해하고 미국의 인신매매방지 활동 등을 살펴보고 우리나라가 이주 어선원들에 대한 인권침해 예방을 위하여 개선 하여야 할 사항 등을 제안하고자 한다. 선원인권침해예방을 위해서는 정부의 실질적인 규제활동과 선원행정집행 공무원들의 교육·훈련이 필요하다.

The coastal composite fishery has the highest rate of around 30.0% in registered fishing vessels of Korea for the last three years. The risk analysis for the fisher’s safety of coastal composite fishing vessels was conducted to serve as a basic data for improving the healthy and safe working environment of fisher using fisher’s occupational accidents of the national federation of fisheries cooperatives (NFFC) from 2016 to 2018 (n = 1,105). As a result, the occupational accident occurrence rate of coastal composite fishery was 3.76% in all industries, 7.8 times the rate of that. In addition, death and missing rate was found to have a serious level management to 10.10‱. Among the accidents, 76.0% occurred at sea. The slipping, others and contact with machinery or fishing gear occurred more frequently in order in the frequency of accident occurrence pattern. In the risk assessment using frequency and severity, slipping, contact with machinery and others showed high risk during fishing. The results are expected to contribute to identification and assessment of safety hazard occurred in coastal composite fishing vessels.

The International Labor Organization (ILO) selected fishing as the most dangerous group of jobs in the world, and it is well known in Korea as a 4D industry. Offshore large purse seine accounts for the largest portion of the fishing industry in the coastal region with high death rate and the accident rate. The repeated disaster rate survey by the Korea Maritime Institute (KMI) shows offshore large purse seiner is the highest at 22.3 percent and coastal gill nets and offshore stow net are following at 12.4 percent and 11.9 percent in order. Therefore, risk factors occurring in offshore large purse seiners were analyzed based on data from the National Federation of Fisheries Cooperatives (NFFC) for three years from 2015 to 2017 and 4M (Man, Machine, Media, Management) 3E (Engineering, Education, Enforcement) techniques were used to provide a safe fishing environment. The number of accidents on offshore large purse seiners each year was more than 150, and the number of accidents on every fishing boats was as high as 17 percent in 2015. If the accident rate and the risk level were divided by insurance, the accident resulting from contact with machinery was the highest, and the risk of a contact with gear was low but frequently occurring. This was caused by collisions and contact with gear in situations where death and disappearance risk are not high, and accident types in situations where death and loss risk are considered to be contact with machinery, falls or other accidents. Through these analysis techniques, the frequency and risk of each type of accident on a offshore large purse seiners can be demonstrated, and it is expected to raise awareness of a safer fishing environment and contribute to the reduction of accidents.