Choose Your Battles Korea

This article appeared in the Korea Times today:

"Chinese Sailors Detained for Killing Korean Coast Guard

By Park Si-soo
Staff Reporter

Eleven Chinese sailors have been detained for illegally catching fish in Korea's exclusive economic zone in the West Sea and attacking Korean coast guards dispatched to stop them, resulting in the killing of a Korean coast guard, police said Sunday.

Park Gyeong-jo, 48, a sergeant of the Mokpo Coast Guard, was killed Thursday night after being beaten around the head with blunt weapons wielded by the sailors.

An arrest warrant was sought for three sailors confirmed to have been linked to the homicide, investigators said.

At 7 p.m. Thursday, a patrol vessel of the Mokpo Coast Guard detected two unidentified 50-ton Chinese fishing boats on its radar 70 kilometers west of Gageo Island, within the Korean EEZ.

Seventeen coast guards including Park were dispatched to capture the vessels. As they were approaching, the Chinese workers wielded iron pipes, shovels and threw bottles and fishing gear to prevent them from boarding.

Park and two other officers attempted to get onboard but were pushed away. Park fell in the sea and went missing.

He was found dead in a lifejacket at 1:10 p.m. Friday ㅡ 17 hours after he went missing ㅡ about six kilometers south of the missing point.

``An autopsy conformed that beatings to his head caused his death,'' said a Mokpo Coast Guard official.

The life-and-death battles between Korean coast guards and Chinese fishermen have continued through the years as the Korean EEZ in the West Sea, which is close to China's mainland, is considered one of the most fish-rich areas around the Korean Peninsula.

In May 2005, four coast guard officers were severely wounded after being assaulted by Chinese sailors, whose ship was on the verge of being captured for operating within Korean waters without permission.

In August, a member of the Incheon Coast Guard was also beaten while inspecting an unlicensed Chinese shipping boat, resulting in him being hospitalized for five weeks.

According to the Korea Coast Guard, 159 Chinese ships have been seized for operating illegally in Korean waters so far this year. In 2007, 494 illegal operations were reported, an 18 percent drop from the record high of 584 cases in 2005.

Chinese fishermen fiercely resist arrest to avoid tens of millions of won in fines, which exceed their annual income, if caught operating without permission.

``We go on patrol with gas guns, electronic shock devices and clubs. But we do not take such life-threatening weapons as rifles or handguns to avoid possible diplomatic disputes,'' a coast guard official said. ``For this reason, we have felt our lives threatened many times.'' "

My thoughts...this weekend people were still protesting against the South Korean President for allowing American Beef in the country. Of course, Chinese baby formula has recently been recalled for containing various toxins, and a Coast Guard officer was killed by Chinese fishermen....but hey, let's work really hard to keep out that beef from the country that has done more for South Korea than anyone else. Way to pick your battles South Korea.