The Role of The Indonesian Government in Guaranteeing the Rights of Indonesian Migrant Workers in The Korean Coastal Sector: An Analysis of Bilateral Cooperation and Diplomacy

DOI

10.2991/978-2-38476-565-2_44How to use a DOI?

Keywords

Protection; Indonesian Migrant Workers; Diplomacy

Abstract

This study aims to analyze the role of the Indonesian government in guaranteeing the rights of Indonesian migrant workers employed in the South Korean coastal sector through bilateral cooperation mechanisms and labor diplomacy. The background to this study stems from the high number of violations of the rights of Indonesian migrant workers in the South Korean fishing industry, including excessive working hours, high safety risks, limited access to legal assistance, and weak supervision in maritime work areas. These conditions call for an evaluation of the effectiveness of national regulations and the implementation of bilateral instruments that have been the basis for the placement of Indonesian migrant workers. The study uses a normative legal method with a legislative, conceptual, and international agreement approach. Data sources include national laws, implementing regulations, bilateral agreements between Indonesia and South Korea, international legal instruments, as well as academic literature and reports from relevant institutions. The analysis was conducted through legal interpretation and a study of the coherence of PMI protection policies. The results of the study show that Indonesia has a strong legal basis for protecting PMI, but its effectiveness in the South Korean coastal sector still faces various obstacles, particularly the limited coverage of the Employment Permit System, weak contract transparency, and minimal accountability of recruitment agencies. The role of Indonesian diplomacy, including the Indonesian Embassy in Seoul and the Indonesian Consulate General in Busan, has proven to be important in handling PMI cases, but it is still reactive and has not fully addressed the structural problems in the fisheries sector. The study concludes that strengthening proactive diplomacy, establishing a special agreement for the fisheries sector, increasing the capacity of Indonesian representatives, and harmonizing bilateral policies are strategic steps to ensure that the rights of Indonesian migrant workers are fulfilled in a sustainable manner and in accordance with international legal standards.

Copyright

© 2026 The Author(s)

Open Access

Open Access This chapter is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits any noncommercial use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license and indicate if changes were made.

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TY  - CONF
AU  - Wafda Vivid Izziyana
AU  - Helen Intania Surayda
AU  - R. Odityo Valen Aprian Jaya
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/04/30
TI  - The Role of The Indonesian Government in Guaranteeing the Rights of Indonesian Migrant Workers in The Korean Coastal Sector: An Analysis of Bilateral Cooperation and Diplomacy
BT  - Proceedings of the 2nd International Conference on Social Environment Diversity (ICOSEND 2025)
PB  - Atlantis Press
SP  - 351
EP  - 355
SN  - 2352-5398
UR  - https://doi.org/10.2991/978-2-38476-565-2_44
DO  - 10.2991/978-2-38476-565-2_44
ID  - Izziyana2026
ER  -