[Asia Economy Reporter Park Hyesook] The Central Regional Coast Guard will conduct a special crackdown until the 22nd of next month to prevent and eradicate human rights violation crimes targeting socially vulnerable groups such as people with disabilities, women, foreigners, and fishermen.

The crackdown will focus on human rights violations including inducement, confinement, assault, and wage extortion aimed at exploiting the labor of people with disabilities; wage extortion targeting seafarers; illegal activities related to unauthorized job placement agencies and the mediation of foreign seafarers; forced sexual harassment of female crew members; violent acts by senior seafarers; and ignoring demands for seafarers to disembark.

To this end, the Coast Guard will strengthen intelligence gathering on crimes at ship entry and exit points and in areas where many maritime workers reside, in cooperation with related organizations, and conduct on-site inspections to check for labor exploitation at island aquaculture farms and salt fields.

In particular, they plan to closely examine whether employers are ignoring demands from marine and fishery workers to disembark and terminate labor contracts.

Last year, the Central Regional Coast Guard conducted a special crackdown on human rights violation crimes targeting socially vulnerable groups, uncovering 8 cases involving 14 people.

A representative of the Central Regional Coast Guard urged, "We ask for the active reporting from victims of human rights violations and maritime workers who witness related crimes."