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Coastguard killed by Chinese fisherman
Foreign Ministry calls in envoy to protest violence
By Lee Hyo-sik
By Lee Hyo-sik
A member of the Korea Coast Guard (KCG) was stabbed to death by a Chinese fisherman illegally operating in South Korean waters early Monday morning, with another officer sustaining critical injuries.
This is the latest in a series of incidents in which coastguards enforcing maritime laws were injured or killed by violent Chinese fishermen. There have been growing calls for the Korean government to take a tougher stance against these trawlers unlawfully fishing in the country’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).
The Incheon Coast Guard said it spotted a 66-ton Chinese boat fishing illegally in waters 85 kilometers southwest of Socheong Island near the maritime border with North Korea in the West Sea at around 5:30 a.m. Monday.
At 7 a.m., a KCG officer, Lee Cheong-ho, 41, and 15 others who were on two high-speed patrol boats, began approaching the Chinese trawler to take control of it.
Despite fierce resistance, KCG officers were able to board the boat and apprehend the Chinese fishermen on board. In the course of taking them into custody, a violent clash broke out between the captain of the Chinese boat and Lee, and another coastguard, Lee Nak-hoon, 33, when another Chinese trawler rammed into it, the Coast Guard said.
The fisherman stabbed the 41-year-old corporal in the ribs with a sharp object. The coastguard was immediately transferred to Inha University Hospital in Incheon but was pronounced dead several hours later due to excessive bleeding.
The other Lee also sustained injuries during the scuffle as he was stabbed in the abdomen. He has been undergoing treatment at the same hospital.
“The injured coastguards were immediately transferred to hospital by a helicopter at around 10 a.m. But Corporal Lee was pronounced dead on arrival. It is unfortunate that Lee lost his life while performing his duties,” an official at Incheon Coast Guard said. “We will conduct an autopsy on his body to confirm how he died.”
The official said investigators are questioning the fishermen about how and why they illegally operated in South Korean waters. “We seized the Chinese fishing ship and took its nine sailors into custody. We will first charge them with poaching and obstruction of official duty. We will then file formal charges against the ship’s captain and others who wielded violence against the coastguards.”
He said coastguards seized another Chinese ship which rammed into the 66-ton trawler, adding investigators are questioning the crew onboard.
Shortly after the incident, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade called in China’s ambassador to Seoul to protest the fishermen’s use of violence. During a 20-minute meeting with Amb. Zhang Xinsen, First Vice Foreign Minister Park Suk-hwan “strongly demanded that the Chinese government strictly clamp down on illegal fishing and the illegitimate acts of Chinese fishermen,” ministry spokesman Cho Byung-jae told reporters.
Park also urged the Chinese government to express regret over the incident and promise to prevent similar situations from recurring in the future. Zhang expressed regret and replied that he would “promptly and accurately” report Seoul’s position to his government, Cho said. The ambassador also asked for any video or other reference materials that could help China’s investigation into the incident.
The latest occurrence will likely prompt the government, which has been criticized for its lenient treatment of Chinese fishermen illegally operating in South Korean waters, to take harsher action against them.
The authorities are also expected to put added pressure on their Chinese counterparts to do more to crack down on the ships engaging in illicit activities.
In September 2008, a 48-year-old lieutenant surnamed Park was killed by Chinese fishermen during a raid on a trawler unlawfully operating in waters 73 kilometers off Shinan Island, South Jeolla Province. The lieutenant was physically assaulted and then pushed off the ship.
On Nov. 19, five Korean coast guards were attacked by Chinese fishermen resisting arrest using sharp objects, while a 63-ton Chinese boat intentionally rammed into a 3,000-ton Coast Guard patrol vessel in waters off Gunsan, North Jeolla Province, injuring four, on Nov. 12.
The number of Chinese fishing boats operating in the nation’s EEZ has surged in recent years. In addition to the West Sea and the South Sea, they have begun venturing into the East Sea, indiscriminately catching fish regardless of their size and intentionally sabotaging fishing gear installed by Korean fishermen.
Against this backdrop, the KCG has strengthened a clampdown on illegal fishing by Chinese boats to preserve marine resources in Korean waters and protect the interest of local fishermen.
It also hiked impounding fees charged to the owners of captured boats found to be fishing illegally in Korean waters, separate from fines, to as much as 100 million won ($88,650), up sharply from the previous 70 million won.
But the KCG’s intensifying clampdown has invited fiercer resistance from Chinese fishermen, which pushed up the number of injured coastguards.