Court orders return of Chinese boats, stoking Korea lawsuit and deterrence fears

The reason is that even if the confiscation is finalized in the captains' criminal trials, ownership of an owner who was not tried cannot be taken away. With a legal amendment in Jun., the collateral cap was raised from 300 million won to 1.5 billion won.

As a rule, to release a foreign fishing boat seized for illegal operations by posting collateral, the owner must pay collateral under relevant laws.