hankyoreh

2007 after South Korea’s biggest ever oil spill. (by Park Jong-shik

By Jeon Jin-sik and Song In-geol, Daejeon correspondents in Seosan

Five years and one month after a supertanker collision caused South Korea’s worst ever oil spill, a local court announced that 734 billion won (US$693 million) in compensation will be granted to victims from Taean coast of Chungcheong Province.

Judge Kim Yong-cheol presided over the case in Daejeon District Court’s Seosan branch. The court’s decision is only the first step in compensating the victims. Though the amount decided by the court is significantly larger than the International Oil Pollution Compensation (IOPC) Funds assessment, it falls short of the amount hoped for by Taean’s residents. Civil litigation suits are likely to follow.

The legal proceedings were initiated according to the principle of limited liability for oil pollution caused when supertanker the Hebei Spirit collided with a Samsung Heavy Industries barge, spilling over 12,000 kiloliters (78,918 barrels) of crude oil. The 734 billion won (US$693 million) awarded by the court is just 17.37% of the 4 trillion 227 billion won (US$3.9 billion) sought by the spill’s victims. The amount includes 413 billion won (US$390 million) awarded as compensation for the losses they suffered, just 11.84% of the 3 trillion 495 billion (US$3.3 billion) the residents had been seeking. Central and local government costs for the clean up have been calculated at 217 billion won ($204 million). The remainder is meant to cover the costs of civil clean up efforts.

The amount awarded is four times greater than the IOPC assessment of 184 billion won (US$173 million), and five times more than the 82 billion won (US$77 million) sought by the victims.

Despite the lack of evidence, the court acknowledged the damages suffered by local fishermen and awarded 236 billion won ($US222 million) in damages, a figure thirteen times greater than the original 17 billion won ($US16 million). The court‘s decision accounts for just 19.51% of the 1 trillion 217 billion won (US$1.1 billion) sought in 90,249 individual compensation claims. The court considered the sales and income claims of over 3,000 business operators who earn less than 24 million won (US$22,000) annually and awarded a compensation settlement package of 4.6 billion won (US$4.3 million).

The courts award for marine damages was 367 billion (US$346 million), and 46 billion won (US$43 million) was awarded for non-marine tourism related sectors. The court increased the overall amount to more than a billion won for the fishermen of Boryeong, Seosan, and Taean counties. Non-fishermen opposed the provision of damage compensation when they compared the amounts that were awarded. No funds were set aside for Taean’s retail merchants. Mr. Shin, the owner of a small hostel in Taean County’s Sowon Town, said, “I spent 13 million won (US$12,000) repairing my hostel. We claimed that amount, but we’ve received no compensation at all.”

The court pointed out that the government focused on the clean up operation in the early phase of the disaster and didn’t report on the extent of the damage to the local fishing industry. Judge Kim Yong-chol said, “It has been difficult to acquire basic data on the residents’ damage. It is a pity that as a result victims have not received appropriate compensation. A guide to be followed needs to be created in the case something like this happens again.”

Moon Seung-il, secretary general of the Taean Oil Victims Association, said, “The decision is dumbfounding. It’s like the judiciary is making the victims suffer again.” The Association will formalize its response after examining the legal context. A number of civil suits are expected to be launched at the beginning of next month objecting to the court’s ruling.

If any side among the Taean residents, the IOPC, or representatives of the Hebei Spirit object to the judgment, civil law suits will start. If the court confirms its original compensation, the IOPC will have to pay 329 billion (US$310 million), which includes 145 billion won (US$136 million) on behalf of the owners of the Hebei Spirit. Samsung Crane will have to pay 5.6 billion won (US$5.2 million) and the rest will be paid by the government.

The Hebei Spirit Oil Spill Pollution Victims Support and Environmental Clean Up Special Law (Taean Special Law) guarantees that once the ruling is finalized, the South Korean government must pay out all the damages, then collects the required amounts from the companies involved.

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