38% of Korea's fishing vessels over 21 years old

With some experts suspecting that the worn-down hull had caused last week's sinking of a 34-year-old boat, government data showed Thursday that nearly 40 percent of the fishing boats in South Korea are at least 21 years old.

According to the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries, 24,504 of the fishing boats in the country were aged 21 years or above as of 2023, accounting for 38.1 percent of all registered fishing boats. A total of 12,205 of them were built at least 26 years ago.

Korea does not have official criteria for boats that are deemed too old to be in use. The ministry conducts regular inspections of fishing boats once every five years and special inspections of vessels that have been in an accident, but does not conduct any particularly for older boats.

The percentage of older fishing boats -- at least 21 years old -- has increased every year since 30.2 percent in 2020.

In contrast, newly-constructed fishing vessels decreased last year compared to the previous year, from 95,890 to 64,233.

The authorities have not yet been able to determine what exactly caused the 129-metric ton Geumseong to sink last Friday, leaving four dead and 10 missing among its 27 crew. But there have been speculations that the boat's age contributed at least in part to it plunging to the waters off Jeju Island.

Official government reports show that there were 817 accidents last year involving fishing boats over at least 20 years old. These accidents account for 36.7 percent of all fishing boat accidents that occurred in 2023.