Supreme Court: "No State Liability for Compensation in Case of Captain's Death While Fleeing Illegal Fishing Crackdown"

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Daehyun] The Supreme Court has ruled that the state is not liable for compensation in an accident where a fishing boat fleeing from an illegal fishing crackdown patrol boat collided with a reef, causing the captain to fall into the sea and die.

On the 28th, the Supreme Court's 3rd Division (Presiding Justice Kim Jae-hyung) confirmed the lower court's ruling that dismissed the compensation claim filed by the family of Captain A, who died while evading illegal fishing enforcement, against the state.

Previously, in 2015, the fishing boat carrying A and others fled at maximum speed when an illegal fishing crackdown patrol boat from the East Sea Fisheries Management Unit under the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries approached near the waters off Gangseo-gu, Busan. However, the fishing boat collided with a reef, causing A to fall into the sea and die. At the time, A was wearing work clothes that made swimming difficult and was found to have a blood alcohol concentration of 0.053%, indicating intoxication.

A’s family claimed compensation from the state, arguing that "the enforcement officers conducted excessive crackdown actions and failed to properly rescue despite having a duty to do so."

The first trial ruled in favor of the plaintiff. The court stated, "Even if the pursuit by the supervising officers was lawful, they had an obligation to take necessary rescue measures to reduce the damage caused by the distress accident during the pursuit process," and ordered the state to pay the family a total of about 120 million won.

On the other hand, the second trial did not recognize the state's liability for compensation. The appellate court stated, "For the state to be held liable for compensation due to a public official’s breach of duty, there must be a substantial causal relationship between the breach and the damage suffered by the victim," and added, "Even if a maritime search had been conducted immediately using the patrol boat, it would have been difficult to find and rescue A before death." The court then dismissed the family’s claim.

The Supreme Court also agreed with this judgment and dismissed the family’s appeal.

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