Missing Fishermen of Geumyang 98 Forgotten
By Kwon Mee-yoo Staff Reporter A huge banner hung on the altar outside City Hall set up for the 46 dead and missing sailors from the sunken frigate Cheonan says the nation will never forget them, but the nine fishermen who are also presumed drowned while searching for survivors have been left virtually uncared for, if not forgotten. The trawler Geumyang 98, a private fishing vessel assisting in the search for missing seamen and floating wreckage from the sunken naval ship, collided with a Cambodian cargo ship on April 2 and foundered in the West Sea. Two fishermen were found dead while seven others are still missing. The funeral ceremony for fisherman Kim Jong-pyong, 55, was held on April 22 and the body of Indonesian fisher Lambang Nurcahyo was repatriated. Kim’s funeral was much simpler than the nationwide mourning for the Cheonan sailors, attended by just 10 family members of the missing fishermen and company personnel. Twenty family members of the fishermen visited the central government complex Tuesday to lodge complaints about the government’s tepid action