Ongjin-gun County in Incheon will require everyone who boards a fishing vessel to wear a life jacket at all times beginning July 1. Given the nature of island areas surrounded on all sides by the sea, where fishing accounts for a large share of residents' livelihoods, the measure is being implemented as an institutional safeguard to enhance safety at fishing sites and reduce casualties in the event of an accident.
 [The Korean Today] Implementation of Ongjin-gun's mandatory all-time life jacket wearing for fishing crews and strengthened enforcement © Reporter Kim Mi-hee |
The basis for the measure is Article 24 of the Fishing Vessel Safe Operation Act. Under this provision, beginning July 1, anyone aboard a fishing vessel must wear a life jacket while remaining on an exposed deck. The requirement is not limited to ordinary crew members. The captain is given responsibility not only to wear one personally but also to manage the wearing status of everyone on board. The same standard applies equally to foreign crew members working on domestic fishing vessels.
Fines for failing to comply increase in stages. A first violation carries a fine of 900,000 won, a second 1.5 million won, and a third 3 million won. The design, under which the burden grows with repeated violations, is intended to ensure the effectiveness of the system.
Notably, simply draping a life jacket over oneself is not recognized as fulfilling the obligation. Wearing one without fastening the buckle or without it being properly fitted to the body, or using a life jacket that is damaged or has degraded performance, also falls subject to enforcement. This means a life jacket must be worn not as a mere formality but in a condition that can actually perform its function in an emergency, calling for special care from fishers.
To help the system take root early, the West Sea Fisheries Management Service and the Coast Guard will further strengthen enforcement against failure to wear life jackets starting July 1. In step with this, Ongjin-gun plans to expand publicity on the mandatory-wearing requirement among fishers in its jurisdiction and to continue providing field-centered guidance in cooperation with the fisheries cooperative and each township office.
An Ongjin-gun official urged, "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 life jackets for safe operations."
Because accidents at sea often determine life or death within a short span of time, attention is focused on whether the mandatory all-time wearing requirement can serve as an opportunity to raise safety awareness at Ongjin-gun's fishing sites and reduce casualties.
[ Reporter Kim Mi-hee: incheonsouth@thekoreantoday.com ]
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