About ten days after Prosecutor General Lee Won-seok ordered a swift and thorough investigation into the allegations surrounding First Lady Kim Geon-hee's expensive handbags, a high-ranking personnel reshuffle within the prosecution was carried out. There is speculation that a mid-level personnel reshuffle in the prosecution may take place as early as this week. The photo was taken on the 20th at the Supreme Prosecutors' Office in Seocho-gu, Seoul. Photo by Kang Jin-hyung aymsdream@
The captain and crew members who assaulted and killed a fellow crew member over an extended period have been arrested and indicted.
On the 23rd, Yonhap News reported, "The Criminal Division 2 of the Mokpo Branch of the Gwangju District Prosecutors' Office (Chief Prosecutor Lee Kyung-seok) has arrested and indicted Captain A (45) and Cook B (48) on charges of murder and corpse abandonment after killing a crew member." Three other crew members who aided and abetted the murder of the victim and habitually assaulted him were also arrested and indicted.
Captain A denied the charges, but the prosecution restored deleted ship CCTV footage and analyzed 9,700 videos to uncover their crimes. After setting sail in March-April, Captain A assaulted crew member C with tools for two months, forced him to sleep outside the cabin, and withheld food. On April 30, C lost consciousness due to the harsh treatment. A ordered other crew members to strip C and spray seawater on him with a cleaning hose. C was moved to the wheelhouse but died within about 15 minutes showing symptoms of hypothermia. Afterwards, A and B wrapped C's body in a net and dumped it into the sea. B also confiscated C's mobile phone to prevent reporting and was found to have assisted in disposing of the body. The three crew members sent for simple assault charges were also found to have habitually assaulted C and subjected him to harsh treatment such as pouring seawater on him.
Investigations revealed that A and others committed these crimes simply because C was unable to work well or was disliked. A prosecution official stated, "Using forensic techniques, we restored the videos and revealed the full extent of the crime," adding, "We also urged the crew labor supervision agency to prohibit the confiscation of mobile phones on board."
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