Today, 45-year-old Sung Huo Muo, a captain of a fishing boat was shot by a Korean maritime police officer. It is reported that Sung was killed while his boat illegally entered South Korea’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EZZ). 5 Korean police officers were also wounded in the process. The Chinese government expressed outrage at the incident and many experts stated there may be a great downside in diplomatic relations between South Korea and China.
NewsIs reported that at around 8:30am 140 kilometers off the coast of the island of Wangdeong, Korean maritime police had captured a 80-ton Chinese fishing vessel. While the crew of the ship was being investigated by the Korean police, another boat that Captain Song tried to escape the police forces before they finish investigating the other crew. NewsIs reported that Captain Song resisted the police with a lethal tool while they were trying to investigate.
The Mokpo and Tae-an Police Departments reported that 4 Chinese vessels had shown up to resist the maritime police and there were some serious fights between these fishermen and coast guards and even SWAT team. They were using knives, hammers and even beer bottles to fight off the police while even strangling several officers, trying to push them into the sea. In order to prevent further damage, it is reported that SWAT officers fired several rounds and Song ended up getting shot by one of them. The police have yet to identify which officer was responsible for the death of Song.
While resisting arrest, Song was wounded in the neck. At almost 9am, the coast guards picked up a radio message telling another Chinese boat that Captain Song was wounded. In the end, the police transported Song to a hospital in Mokpo by helicopter. By then, Song had no pulse and was unconscious. He died at around 11:20 am.
For many years, Chinese fishermen have entered Korea’s side of the Exclusive Economic Zone in the Yellow Sea to fish illegally, and the South Korean government has constantly warned China to keep its sailors out of Korean seas. China however, has not done anything to prevent these many conflicts that have been taking place in the Yellow Sea.
