I am an editorial writer at The Korea Times, focusing on foreign policy, North Korea and domestic politics. My key areas of interest include North Korea, foreign interference in elections, election integrity, cyberattacks and human rights. Prior to joining the Editorial Board, I served as both Politics Desk editor and Culture Desk editor. During my career, I have reported on the Presidential Office under the Lee Myung-bak administration, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the National Assembly.
5 Somali pirates under investigation
Deny shooting ship's captain
By Kang Hyun-kyung
Five Somali pirates that have been brought to Seoul partly admitted their involvement in the hijacking of the 11,500-ton Samho Jewelry in the Arabian Sea on Jan. 15. But they denied shooting the ship’s captain, investigators said Sunday.
“We showed the pirates the ladder and speed boat that were used in hijacking the freighter. We asked them whether they used them, and they replied they did,” an official of the special investigation team led by the Korean Coast Guard was quoted as saying by Yonhap News Agency.
The development came hours after the team began questioning the pirates on charges of hijacking the chemical carrier, holding the crew hostage and shooting the captain Seok Hae-kyun.
The five men are reportedly cooperating with the probe but are adamantly denying the charges of shooting the captain.
Earlier, a Busan court approved the arrest of the pirates, who were captured during the recent rescue operation of the freighter in the Arabian Sea. The five were brought to the southern port city at 4:18 a.m. on a royal jet belonging to the United Arab Emirates.
The 58-year-old captain was seriously wounded and is currently receiving treatment at a hospital in Suwon, south of Seoul. The ship’s other 20 crewmembers were rescued unscathed, while the remaining eight Somali pirates were killed.
The pirates, whose ages range between 19 and 25, entered the court dressed in winter clothes wearing sneakers provided by the Korean Navy.
The names of the five Somali nationals are Serum Abdullah, Ali Abdullah, Ali Abukad-Aeman, Brallat Aul and Arai Mahomed, according to Yonhap.
Despite the beginning of Korea’s first prosecution of suspected Somali pirates, there was skepticism about penalizing them due to the complex legal process and language barrier.
If the five pirates are found to be guilty of the attempted murder of the captain, the hijacking and holding the 21 sailors hostage for ransom, the court could sentence them to life in prison.
Coast Guard investigators said they had already secured enough evidence, including seven Korean sailors’ statements and video clips capturing the entire military operation that can be used to prove the pirates’ guilt.
If the pirates are not cooperative, they plan to dispatch a team of investigators to Oman to question the Korean sailors aboard the chemical carrier to get further evidence. The latter are still aboard the Samho Jewelry as the Omani authorities will not let the ship dock as it still has the bodies of the eight dead pirates on board.
The language barrier is widely cited as a primary setback to the prosecution. The Coast Guard hired a Somali interpreter who can also speak English fluently and a local national to translate Korean into English, and vice versa to facilitate the investigation.
Experts pointed out that the consecutive interpretation during the investigation and trial may make it difficult for investigators to effectively interrogate the Somali men.
Under the U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea, sovereign nations are entitled to seize and prosecute pirates. But many governments send the pirates to a third country such as Kenya because of difficulty in prosecuting them.
The nations that signed the agreements for bringing pirates to justice in the African nation on their behalf include the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, China and Denmark. These nations are committed to giving financial support to Kenya to cover the costs needed for the investigation and trial.
Last year, Kenya announced that it would no longer take on any more prosecution of pirates as some nations have failed to keep their word.
By Kang Hyun-kyung
‘해적들, 부차적 혐의 인정’
삼호주얼리호 해적사건을 수사하고 있는 수사관들은 "해적들이 해적행위 가담 사실 등 부차적인 혐의를 인정했으나 선장에게 발포했다는 혐의는 부인했다"고 30일 밝혔다.
해양경찰청이 주도하고 있는 특별수사본부는 이들 해적이 삼호 주얼리호를 납치한 후 한국선원을 인질로 잡고 선장에게 발포를 한 혐의에 대해 조사를 시작했다.
부산 지방법원은 이날 이들 해적에 대해 삼호 주얼리호를 납치하고 청해부대의 구출작전때 한국선원을 인질로 잡고 선장에게 발포를 한 혐의로 구속영장이 발부했다.
석해균 (58세) 선장은 중상을 입고 현재 수원의 한 병원에서 치료를 받고 있다. 다른 20명 선원은 다치지 않고 구출됐으며 소말리아 해적 8명은 살해됐다.
해적들은 UAE왕실 소속의 전용기편으로 30일 오전 4시 18분 부산으로 압송된 후 관계당국으로 이송되었다. 이들은 심문과장에서 거의 모든 혐의를 부인했다고 관계자들은 전했다.
이들 중 한 사람은 그는 다른 해적들이 삼호 주얼리호를 납치한 후 배에 탔으며 이번 납치와는 아무런 관련이 없다고 주장했다고 알려졌다.