Coast Guard Union: "Firefighters' Union Complaint Must Not Become a Means of Diluting Responsibility"

Captain dies in fishing boat capsizing near Naksan Port in Yangyang last March
Police refer seven firefighters for investigation on suspicion of occupational negligence resulting in death
Firefighters' union files complaint with police, saying, "Investigate the Coast Guard"

The Coast Guard union expressed regret after a firefighters' union filed a complaint with police, calling for an investigation into whether the Coast Guard's rescue response was appropriate in connection with a fishing boat capsizing near Naksan Port in Yangyang, Gangwon Province, last March.

In a statement issued on October 28, the Korea Coast Guard Civil Servants' Labor Union said, "The Coast Guard officers who responded to the accident did their utmost to carry out rescue operations at the scene and coordinate with other agencies in accordance with laws and procedures, despite rough waves and extremely dangerous conditions at sea. They also rescued a family member of the captain who had entered the water at great personal risk."

It added, "The firefighters' union filed a complaint against the Coast Guard as if to say, 'The Coast Guard arrived first, so it is responsible.' This has deeply wounded the honor and pride of colleagues who have quietly guarded the sea and devoted themselves to their duties. We cannot accept the firefighters' union's excessive complaint, which appears to shift responsibility to the Coast Guard."

The Coast Guard union said, "Accountability at disaster sites must be established strictly on the basis of objective facts and the respective roles of each agency. It must never be turned into a means of diluting an organization's responsibility by filing a complaint against another agency." It urged investigators to determine the facts fairly based on objective evidence and legal principles.

Korea Coast Guard

On October 26, the Fire Headquarters of the Korean Government Employees' Union and its Gangwon Fire Service Chapter filed a complaint with the Gangwon Provincial Police Agency against Coast Guard officers, including those assigned to the Naksan Police Box of the Sokcho Coast Guard Station, on charges of occupational negligence resulting in death and dereliction of duty.

The unions said, "Although this was a maritime disaster to which both the fire service and the Coast Guard responded, an investigation has so far been conducted only into fire service officials. There has not been a sufficient investigation into the Coast Guard's initial response, despite its role as an emergency rescue agency for maritime disasters and as the agency responsible for maritime rescue."

They added, "The purpose of this complaint is not to shift or minimize responsibility by fire service officials who responded to the scene to another agency. We are asking investigators to examine, under the same objective standards, the actions of the agencies involved in responding to the same accident, the legal duties of the officials responsible, the actions actually taken and those that could have been taken, and the causal relationship between those actions and the outcome."

At around 9:57 a.m. on March 14, a 3-ton fishing boat capsized at sea near Naksan Port in Ganghyeon-myeon, Yangyang County, leaving its captain, a man in his 70s identified as A, in the water. He was rescued about 20 minutes later in cardiac arrest and taken to a hospital, where he died.

A's family filed a complaint with police, alleging that 119 rescuers failed to provide appropriate aid even though A had swum near a breakwater wearing a life jacket and called for help. In July, police referred seven fire service officials who had responded to the scene to the Prosecution Service (then the prosecution) on charges of occupational negligence resulting in death.

The fishing boat capsizing incident at Naksan Port in Yangyang last March. Photo provided by the Gangwon Special Self-Governing Province Fire Headquarters.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.