Seafarers and Ship Officers as Special-Type Workers Must Not Overlook 'License Revocation' Administrative Dispositions

For special-occupation workers such as seafarers and ship officers, a 'license' is the most important asset directly tied to their livelihood. If criminal punishment is imposed due to a dispute among seafarers or an unsavory incident occurring on board, it can lead to license revocation. In particular, Article 9(2) of the 「Ship Personnel Act」 stipulates that a ship officer's license shall be 'mandatorily revoked' when a person is sentenced to imprisonment or greater for a specific crime such as assault while working on board and the sentence becomes final, so special care is required.

However, people sometimes become absorbed only in the criminal judgment right in front of them, only to overlook the administrative disposition stage once the trial ends. A recent case of a ship captain successfully defended by the law firm to which the author belongs well illustrates how legal review can rescue an individual's livelihood. That captain was sentenced to a suspended sentence for an unsavory incident on board, and the disposing agency issued a license revocation notice on that basis.

Furthermore, a violation of the 'principle of protection of trust' due to erroneous guidance by the administrative agency's staff also served as a strong defense argument. At the time, the disposing agency's staff assured, on two occasions, that 'even a suspended sentence of imprisonment is subject to a 3-month suspension of duties, not license revocation,' and the client, who firmly believed this, gave up his right to appeal the erroneous first-instance judgment. Since this inflicted irreversible harm by breaking the party's legitimate and reasonable trust despite there being no significant risk of harming the public interest, we pointed out that this directly contravenes the principle of protection of trust under the Framework Act on Administrative Affairs.

Attorney Jung Woo-young of Daeryun Law Firm stated, "As a result, the disposing agency acknowledged this illegality and procedural defect and, instead of a fatal license revocation, reduced the disposition to a '3-month suspension of duties' as originally advised," adding, "It was the moment the livelihood of a captain who had devoted decades to the sea, and who had nearly left it forever, was preserved."

He went on, "To prevent a criminal case that began as a mutual dispute from escalating into license revocation that shakes the foundation of one's livelihood, a macroscopic view is needed from the early stage of the case. One must keep in mind that a criminal case and the administrative disposition that follows are by no means separate procedures, but a single gear that must be organically linked and designed and responded to simultaneously from the early stage of the case."

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Seafarers and Ship Officers as Special-Type Workers Must Not Overlook 'License Revocation' Administrative Dispositions (Go to link)