VIDEO Alleged abuse of Vietnamese fishermen triggers uproar against Korean captain
Members of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions and lawyer Kim Jong-chul from Advocates for Public Interest Law, sixth from right, demand prosecution of the Korean captain and his family who allegedly abused Vietnamese sailors for months aboard a fishing vessel working near Seogwipo, Jeju Island. They are pictured in front of the presidential office Cheong Wa Dae on May 29. / Yonhap
By Ko Dong-hwan
This still from a video shows a Vietnamese fisherman who was allegedly thrown into the ocean by a Korean fishing boat's captain. A fellow Vietnamese fisherman shot the video in March this year. / Screen capture from YouTube
Civic groups have called for the punishment of a Korean fishing boat captain after he and others allegedly assaulted and abused two Vietnamese fishermen.
The groups took to the streets in front of the South Korean presidential office and the Jeju Employment and Welfare Center earlier this week. They demanded the suspects be prosecuted and their licenses revoked.
The fishermen, in their early 20s, were on a vessel that left Seogwipo on Jeju Island. They claimed they were frequently physically abused, sexually harassed and thrown into the ocean on the captain's orders over a period of nearly six months.
A JTBC report on May 29 showed one of the victims, who came to Korea in June 2017 on a working visa for fishery, helplessly trying to stay afloat in the ocean only a few meters off the ship.
The victim said the “angry captain” threw him into the ocean and he felt “utmost horror as his hands and feet were going to freeze.” He also said he was left with scars on his face, allegedly caused by the captain.
The video was captured last March by the other Vietnamese fisherman who arrived in Korea in September. He said he suffered sexual harassment from the captain, who broke into his room and groped his genitals.
The pair alleged the captain often threatened them by pretending to throw a knife or other objects at them and that the captain's family on the vessel physically harassed them.
In December, after they disembarked, they reported their horrific experiences to Seogwipo police. But the captain persuaded the victims to return to the ship and the nightmare continued, including the March incident shown in the video.
Seogwipo Coast Guard apprehended the captain to investigate the matter. The authority said it is gathering more evidence because testimonies by the suspect and victims do not match.
On May 29, Kim Jong-chul, a lawyer from Advocates for Public Interest Law based in Seoul, and other civic activist groups, including the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU), demanded the Moon Jae-in administration act on all human rights violation cases involving migrant fishermen and punish the perpetrators.
The following day, the KCTU's Jeju branch and other civic groups gathered in front of the Jeju Employment and Welfare Center. Both demonstrations criticized the current employment system that only allows fishermen to change boats when the existing employer approves, dubbing it a “slavery contract.”
“The current law states that once employers' errors become evident, it is legal to change workplaces,” the KCTU's Baek Seon-young said. “But for migrant workers who report their grievances, the current laws make it extremely difficult for them to prove their cases.”
The Korea Coast Guard said Thursday it will survey some 83,000 industry entities nationwide ― from fishing vessels to fish farms ― to check for human rights violations, including those involving foreign workers. The special crackdown will last until the end of June.
The coast guard said the investigation, using phone interviews, questionnaires and in-person interviews, will be led by government agencies handling foreign workers, including the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries and the Ministry of Employment and Labor.