Busan court gives suspended term to site manager over ship-scrapping sludge in the sea
In short
A court in Busan has sentenced a site manager in his 60s to 10 months in prison, suspended for three years, for letting sludge from a scrapped ship he was dismantling fall into the sea. The company he worked for was fined 5 million won. The judge took into account seven earlier convictions for the same type of offence.
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The Busan District Court Western Branch has sentenced a man in his 60s, identified only as A, to 10 months in prison, suspended for three years, for discharging waste into the sea while dismantling a scrapped ship. Judge Kim Su-hong (김수홍) of Criminal Single Judge Division 3 found him guilty of violating the Marine Environment Management Act, and fined the company charged with him 5 million won. Yonhap and Seoul Shinmun reported that the court disclosed the ruling on October 9; Newsis and Dong-A Ilbo cited legal circles. [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 ]
A was the site manager of a marine construction company and the person in charge of the ship dismantling work, according to Yonhap and Seoul Shinmun. He was charged with letting sludge, waste produced by the work, fall into the sea on the morning of April 11 while dismantling a 117-ton scrapped ship moored at a pier in Saha District, Busan. Newsis and Dong-A Ilbo referred to the vessel as the scrapped ship B. [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 ]
Investigators found that A had a worker cut the ship's steel plates with an oxygen welding torch without installing a facility to stop the sludge falling into the sea, Yonhap and Seoul Shinmun reported. As a result, part of the sludge produced during the work went directly into the sea. Yonhap noted that the Marine Environment Management Act prohibits discharging pollutants from ships into the sea. [ 1 , 4 ]
According to Newsis and Dong-A Ilbo, the judge said he found A guilty on all charges based on A's statements in court and photographs collected at the site, and set the sentence taking into account A's seven prior convictions for the same type of offence. Yonhap and Seoul Shinmun also reported that the judge cited the seven earlier convictions. [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 ]
Why it matters
The case was brought under the Marine Environment Management Act, which bars discharging pollutants from ships into the sea, and the company was fined along with its site manager. Yonhap reported that the sludge fell into the sea because no facility to stop it falling had been installed during the cutting work.
Key facts
- Judge Kim Su-hong (김수홍) of Criminal Single Judge Division 3 at the Busan District Court Western Branch sentenced a man in his 60s, identified as A, to 10 months in prison suspended for three years. [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 ]
- The company that was charged with him was fined 5 million won. [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 ]
- The charge was violating the Marine Environment Management Act. [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 ]
- On the morning of April 11, while dismantling a scrapped ship at a pier in Saha District, Busan, A was charged with letting sludge fall into the sea. [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 ]
- The scrapped ship was a 117-ton vessel moored at the pier. [ 1 , 4 ]
- A had a worker cut the ship's steel plates with an oxygen welding torch without installing a facility to stop sludge falling into the sea. [ 1 , 4 ]
- A has seven prior convictions for the same type of offence, which the judge took into account. [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 ]
Confirmed by several sources
- A was sentenced to 10 months in prison, suspended for three years, for violating the Marine Environment Management Act. [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 ]
- The company charged with him was fined 5 million won. [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 ]
- Sludge was discharged into the sea during the dismantling of a scrapped ship at a pier in Saha District, Busan, on the morning of April 11. [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 ]
- The judge took into account A's seven prior convictions for the same type of offence. [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 ]
- The scrapped ship was a 117-ton vessel. [ 1 , 4 ]
Still unclear
- How much sludge went into the sea. Yonhap and Seoul Shinmun say only that part of the sludge went into the sea and give no quantity.
- The names of the defendant and the company. All outlets identify the defendant only as A and do not name the company or the ship, which Newsis and Dong-A Ilbo call B.
- The judge's title. Yonhap and Seoul Shinmun call Kim Su-hong a judge, while Newsis and Dong-A Ilbo call him a presiding judge.