Korea clarifies child life jacket rule for fishing boats

The government legislation ministry said Tuesday that fishing boats must carry children's life jackets equal to at least 20 percent of their maximum passenger capacity, not 20 percent of the total number of jackets on board.

The interpretation, issued in response to a query from Buan County in North Jeolla Province, settles how a local government should apply the equipment standards for fishing boat operators. The county had asked whether the children's jackets required under the enforcement decree of the Fishing Management and Promotion Act should be measured against maximum passenger capacity or against the 120 percent of capacity that vessels must carry in total.

The ministry said the answer is maximum passenger capacity. The clause requiring jackets equal to at least 120 percent of capacity, of which at least 20 percent must be children's jackets, is calculated throughout on the basis of maximum passenger capacity. Counting children's jackets against the total stock would leave an adult-only vessel short of jackets that fit. The ministry said the standard is consistent with other water safety rules, including the Enforcement Rule of the Water Leisure Safety Act and the Enforcement Decree of the Excursion Ship and Ferry Business Act, which require child life jackets to be counted against passenger capacity rather than against the total number of jackets aboard.

The ruling also addressed emergency exits. A requirement for at least two emergency exits in passenger cabins does not apply to boats built on or after Jan. 1, 2020 that do not have a passenger cabin. On a boat with no cabin, there is no enclosed space from which passengers would need to escape.

The ministry recommended that the rules be revised so that maximum passenger capacity is stated clearly as the basis for calculating the number of children's life jackets required.

The ruling was issued under case number 26-0683.