[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Seo Young-seo] A man in his 40s operating an unregistered employment agency who exploited seafarers' employment deposits from fishing vessel owners was arrested by the Coast Guard.
Mokpo Maritime Police Station (Chief Jeong Young-jin) announced on the 23rd that after about two months of persistent pursuit, they arrested Mr. A, an unregistered employment agent who exploited the difficult recruitment situation of vessel owners by deceiving them into believing he would supply seafarers, embezzled employment deposits, and fled. He was detained on the 18th on charges of fraud, violation of the Employment Security Act, and obstruction of business.
According to the Coast Guard, since August 2018, Mr. A operated an unregistered employment agency around Mokpo and Incheon, deceiving vessel owners by pretending to introduce seafarers and embezzling approximately 250 million KRW over 10 occasions under the pretext of introduction fees and employment deposits.
Additionally, Mr. A boarded fishing vessel B, which was anchored at sea, and unlawfully disembarked seafarers he had introduced, then diverted them to other vessels, thereby also interfering with the fishing operations of vessel B's owner.
A Mokpo Coast Guard official stated, "Acts that violate seafarers' human rights and exploit employment deposits mostly occur at unregistered employment agencies," and urged, "To avoid similar damages, vessel owners need to actively report unregistered employment agencies."
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