Policy Recommendation on deficient Supply of Seafarers in Korea

Seafarer is a driving force for various maritime industries and business activities such as merchant shipping, fishing, ship operation and management, safety management of ships and ports, pilotage, tug boat service, maritime distress judgment, marine insurance and dynamic positioning of oil and offshore vessels. Globally, there are common issues of seafarers: continual reduction of seafarers in developed countries such as the UK, Norway, Germany, France, and Korea; aging of seafarers; multi-nationalities on board a ship; and hence globalization of manning. The case of Korea adds a peculiarity in supply of seafarers: high separation rate and alternative service for compulsory military service as a main reason of becoming seafarer. Following the main results of Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) with a questionnaire on supply side of seafarer policy, the paper prioritizes income tax reduction among policy measures at first, then looks in the order of alternative service of military service, career management, improvement of working condition, order of industrial service merit, and drama or film stared by the actors of Korean seafarers respectively.