President Yoon Suk Yeol called for a stern response against illegal Chinese fishing boat operations in South Korea’s western waters, adding that priority should be given to public interest and safety.

Yoon made the call on Tuesday aboard a Coast Guard patrol boat as he was briefed on a crackdown on illegal fishing in South Korea’s exclusive economic zone(EEZ) and along the de facto maritime inter-Korean border of the Northern Limit Line(NLL) during peak crab season.

According to presidential spokesperson Kim Soo-kyung, Yoon called for strong measures to combat illegal fishing not only to protect the nation's marine resources, but also for the sake of national security.

Stressing that North Korea strongly cracks down on illegal Chinese fishing despite the two nations’ military alliance, Yoon said the previous Moon Jae-in administration had failed to curb such activity due to concerns over ties with China.

He then called on the Coast Guard not to make any political judgments, saying it should focus its energy on protecting the safety and interests of the people.