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Mandatory Wearing of Life Jacket When Boarding a Fishing Vessel Starting July 1

  • Date

    2026.07.30.

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    39

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Mandatory Wearing of Life Jacket When Boarding a Fishing Vessel Starting July 1
- The mandatory wearing of life jackets on board fishing vessels will take effect starting Wednesday, July 1.

The Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries (MOF; Minister Hwang Jong-woo) announced that the mandatory wearing of life jackets by all persons on board fishing vessels will take effect starting Wednesday, July 1, 2026.

Under the amended Act on the Safety of Operation of Fishing Vessels and the Promotion of Safety and Health of Fishers, all individuals aboard a fishing vessel—regardless of weather warnings or number of people on board—must wear a life jacket or a life vest when on an exposed deck. Violators will be fined up to KRW 3 million.

This measure will be implemented in response to the tragic loss of about 100 lives each year due to fishing vessel accidents such as collisions, capsizing, and groundings. It aims at protecting the lives and safety of fishers better and drastically reducing human casualties from such incidents.

To promote the implementation of the mandatory life jacket wearing, MOF has been conducting briefings and campaigns for fishers in cooperation with the relevant agencies including the Korea Coast Guard and local governments. It has actively promoted the new regulation at national fisheries cooperative auction markets. Moreover, MOF has distributed inflatable life jackets—which offer better comfort and greater ease during fishing operations—to all crew members to increase life jacket wearing rates among fishers.

“The distribution of comfortable inflatable life jackets and the full implementation of the mandatory life jacket wearing system have further strengthened the institutional foundation for fisherman safety. Since accidents can occur without warning, I urge everyone to recognize wearing a life jacket as the most basic safety rule and to be sure to practice it at all times, “Minister of the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries Hwang Jong-woo said.
 
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