Korea should ensure maritime sovereignty

Rep. Ha Tae-keung of the ruling Saenuri party speaks during an interview with The Korea Times at his office in the National Assembly Members' Office building in Seoul Friday. / Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chul

By Jun Ji-hye

Controversy surrounds President Park Geun-hye’s plan to disband the Korea Coast Guard (KCG), announced after she held it responsible for failing to effectively deal with the deadly sinking of the Sewol ferry.

Rep. Ha Tae-keung of the ruling Saenuri Party cited the need for an independent entity to be in-charge of guarding the nation’s coasts despite the planned disbandment of the KCG.

The first-term lawmaker representing the port city of Busan’s Haeundae district is a member of the National Assembly’s committee on agriculture, forestry, ocean and fisheries.

“President Park’s stance is understandable because she would have needed to give a clear message to “irresponsible” public servants and any organizations that fail to fulfill their duty first as a strict punishment,” Ha said during a recent interview with The Korea Times.

He called on the government and politicians to give more thought to the KCG’s functions other than maritime rescue operations.

The lawmaker referred to the KCG’s mission to patrol the seas against Chinese fishing boats and to safeguard Dokdo in the East Sea and Ieodo in the South Sea from foreign territorial claims, as one of the very important tasks of the KCG.

“Almost all countries which possess oceans have an independent organization in charge of the coast guard. The United States, for example, has a separate coast guard from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the country’s safety management body,” said Ha. “The independent entity to protect the nation’s oceans will be definitely necessary, despite the plan to do away with the KCG, of which functions are to be handed over to the National Safety Agency and the National Police Agency.”

But he argued that before making a final decision over the envisioned dissolution of the KCG, lawmakers should carefully deliberate on the issue. “Some prefer far-reaching reform to dissolution.”

Dismantling the KCG requires a revision of the National Government Organization Act, which needs the approval of the National Assembly.

“It is true that the KCG has exposed enormous problems in coping with the ferry disaster, but criticism against it has somewhat been overblown amid a deeply grieving nation,” said Ha.

Ha pointed out that the maritime service has become a sort of target of witch-hunting, in the wake of the nation’s unprecedented manmade disaster.

“The KCG has been fiercely criticized for failing to enter into the vessel when it began to sink. At the scene, it might have been extremely difficult to predict how fast the ferry would sink and figure out the inner structure of the 6,825-ton ferry, which could increase the risk of costing lives of the rescue personnel as well,” he said.

“I recently visited the U.S. coast guard and asked them about what they would do. They also said it would be hard for them to decide to enter the sinking vessel,” he said.

With regard to the captain who abandoned the vessel and left the passengers on board, Ha said that the decision by the prosecutors to press homicide charges against him also seems to be an extreme measure.

“The captain can be in violation of the maritime law, but in my opinion, he cannot be punished by homicide charges. Investigators should be cool-headed in application of law. He was also in fear of his life,” he said.

The lawmaker added, however, that given the improper behavior of the captain, the government needs to improve safety training for crewmembers.

“Vocational ethics education is also necessary. The government should earmark more budget for these tasks as protecting lives of the public is one of the most significant duties of the state,” said Ha.

Follow Jun Ji-hye on Twitter @TheKopJihye