S. Korea vows to improve working environment of Indonesian crewmen

South Korea and Indonesia agreed Monday to rev up monitoring on the working environment of Indonesian crewmen boarding local fishing boats and root out possible violations of human rights.

Oceans Minister Moon Seong-hyeok held a virtual meeting with his Indonesian counterpart Ida Fauziyah and inked a memorandum of understanding to increase transparency in the recruitment process of workers, according to the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries.

The agreement came as Indonesia takes up around 36 percent of foreign employees working on South Korean fishing boats, followed by those from the Philippines and Vietnam with 21 percent each.

Under the latest agreement, only institutions designated by both countries will be allowed to participate in the recruitment and education of Indonesians for South Korean fishing boats.

The ministry said the move will help in reducing excessive commission fees.

The two governments also agreed to operate a joint institution to educate the workers.

The ministry added it plans to expand such ties with other Southeast Asian countries down the road. (Yonhap)