Korea willing to swap pirates with hostages
Rescued crew to arrive in Oman Thursday
By Lee Tae-hoon
The nation’s top military officer welcomed an idea put forward by lawmakers Monday of exchanging the five Somali pirates captured in the retaking of the 11,500-ton freighter Samho Jewelry for the crew of the hijacked South Korean trawler Geummi 305.
The Geummi 305, a 214-ton fishing vessel seized last October in Kenyan territorial waters, is the only remaining South Korean ship still being held captive by Somali pirates.
In a parliamentary session, both lawmakers of ruling and opposition parties urged the government to consider using the captured pirates to free the sailors of the Geummi 305 — two Koreans, two Chinese and 39 Kenyans.
Rep. Park Sang-cheon of the main opposition Democratic Party (DP) made the suggestion first, asking “What do you think about using the pirates captured alive for the release of the sailors of the Geummi 305?”
“That’s a great idea”, Defense Minister Kim Kwan-jin answered without hesitation, giving the green light to the proposal.
Rep. Kim Dong-sung of the governing Grand National Party (GNP) and other lawmakers also expressed their support to the idea, saying this would considerably increase the chances of rescuing the 43 crewmembers of the Geummi 305.
GNP lawmaker Kim Jang-soo and Rep. Song Young-sun of the minor opposition Future Hope Alliance called on the Minister Kim not to send the captured pirates to a third country.
Defense officials say the fate of the five Somali pirates will likely be determined soon after the arrival of the crewmembers of the chemical carrier Samho Jewelry in the northeastern Omani port of Muscat, scheduled for Thursday.
The Samho Jewelry is currently on its way to the Omani port, escorted by the 4,500-ton KDX-II destroyer Choi Young, on which the five captured pirates have been detained in the brig.
Upon the arrival of the two ships, South Korean officials are expected to hold talks with the Omani government on how to hold the pirates accountable.
Eight Somali pirates were killed and the five captured in the rescue operation by an anti-piracy commando unit, which has been deployed as part of a joint international campaign since 2009.
Sources say Seoul will try to hand over the five to a third country in the region, such as Oman, Kenya or Yemen, but if that option is unavailable, it will bring them to Korea to punish them.
If they are brought here, the government is considering sending them for trial on charges of kidnapping and assault as early as next month.
“It appears inevitable for Korea to bring the pirates here as other countries have expressed strong opposition to holding them due to the cost,” a government official said, asking for anonymity.
The rescued crew, except for the captain of the freighter, will receive immediate medical check-ups and psychological counseling upon their arrival in Oman.
Captain Seok Hae-kyun sustained multiple gunshot wounds during the rescue and was taken to a hospital in Salalah, Oman, Friday.
The South Korean crewmembers are expected to return home by air as early as Saturday.
The Cheonghae unit’s commandos retook the 11,500-ton Samho Jewelry, which had been hijacked by Somali pirates on Jan. 15, in an operation off the coast of Oman.
According to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, Korea is allowed to seize ships involved in piracy and property on board, as well as arrest pirates.
해적과 금미호 선원 맞교환 추진
김관진 국방방관은 24일 소말리아 생포 해적 5명과 소말리아 해적들에 피랍된 금미호의 선원과 맞교환 하는 방안을 검토하겠다고 밝혔다.
그는 민주당 박상천 의원은 24일 국회 국방위원회 간담회에서 "해적 생포자 5명의 신병을 우리가 가지고 있을 때 금미 305호 선박 협상에 활용할 수 있지” 않느냐 제안하자 "아주 좋은 생각"이라고 답변했다
한나라당 김동성 의원도 이날 질의에서 해적을 국내로 송환해 금미호의 인질과 맞교환하는 방식을 검토해볼 필요가 있다 밝혔다.
한나라당 김장수 의원과 미래희망연대 송영선 의원도 "(인질들을) 다른 나라에 주면 안 된다", "(인질을) 우리나라로 데려와야 한다"고 맞장구쳤다.