Seoul to Require Criminal Records of new Foreign Sailors

Foreign sailors seeking to work for South Korean ships may be required to submit their criminal records while their South Korean captains and colleagues will be required to undergo anti-racism education, the government said.

The measures are largely aimed at preventing on-board crimes. They follow the recent alleged homicide of a South Korean captain and an engineer aboard a South Korean fishing boat by two Vietnamese fishermen. Under the government measures, approved at a Cabinet meeting, all new foreign sailors seeking to work on a South Korean ship must submit a criminal background check. Indictments in previous crimes may not directly prevent employment, but they may provide some reference to South Korean employers when deciding whether to hire a foreign sailor, the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries said in a press release.