JAKARTA - Indonesia’s foreign ministry said July 1 that two Indonesian migrant workers employed as fishing crew in South Korea remained missing after their fishing vessel sank off Busan. The June 25 accident involved a 79-ton fishing boat and a 992-ton LPG carrier in waters around Gijang, a coastal district in northern Busan.
The vessel carried eight crew members: six Indonesian citizens and two South Korean citizens. Four Indonesian crew members were rescued, and two Indonesian crew members remained unaccounted for. Yonhap reported that the collision threw all eight crew members into the sea, with the LPG carrier rescuing six of them.
Heni Hamidah, director for the protection of Indonesian citizens at the foreign ministry, said the active Coast Guard search period under local rules runs for 3x24 hours.
“As of now, they have not been found, and under local rules, the search carried out by the Coast Guard is 3x24 hours. After that, the search is only carried out by ships interacting there,” Heni said in Jakarta on July 1 as quoted by Indonesia's state-owned news agency Antara.
The ministry said its citizen protection directorate would continue assisting and communicating with the families of the missing crew members. In an earlier June 25 statement, the Indonesian Embassy in Seoul said it had opened direct communication with the families and was coordinating with the Korean Coast Guard for search updates and consular assistance.
South Korean authorities deployed Coast Guard patrol boats, navy vessels, helicopters, government ships and local fishing boats near the accident site in the initial search, according to Antara’s English-language report. Yonhap said the Ulsan Coast Guard placed the collision at about 10:10 a.m. local time. One rescued person was initially reported in critical condition.
The case has also entered an investigation track. Chosun Ilbo reported on June 27 that the captain and navigator of the LPG carrier had been booked over the fatal collision, on suspicion of professional negligence causing the fishing boat to sink and professional negligence resulting in death.
South Korea is a formal destination for Indonesian migrant workers under the Employment Permit System. KP2MI’s country profile says placements to South Korea are carried out through a government-to-government scheme involving KP2MI, HRD Korea and South Korea’s Ministry of Employment and Labor.
The same profile lists fisheries among the sectors open to foreign workers and says the Indonesian Embassy in Seoul provides emergency assistance, legal support and coordination with Korean authorities.
The accident came weeks after Indonesia ratified the ILO Work in Fishing Convention, 2007, known as Convention No. 188. The ILO said Indonesia deposited the ratification on June 10, becoming the 27th member state to ratify the treaty. NORMLEX lists the convention as not yet in force for Indonesia, with entry into force set for June 10, 2027.
