Another piracy victim: Engineer falls to death

Kim Yong-hyun

Just two days after lowering anchor at Mombasa, Kenya, on Tuesday, the chief engineer of the Geummi 305 crabbing boat was found dead by hotel security personnel at 2:25 a.m. local time yesterday, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade.

The engineer, Kim Yong-hyun, 68, died after falling off the balcony of his hotel room, said an official, adding that a security guard heard him fall and, after rushing to the scene, found Kim dead.

Kim was one of two Koreans who were aboard the Geummi 305 when it was hijacked by Somali pirates four months ago. “We do not know at this point whether Kim’s death was a suicide or homicide,” said an official at the Foreign Ministry.

“Officials of the Korean Embassy in Kenya visited local police and requested they carry out a swift and fair investigation of the case,” the official said.

The official said that no personal notes were found at the hotel and that Korean officials were working to clarify details of Kim’s death.

Kim had dinner with the captain of the ship, Kim Dae-keun, the evening before he died, and the two had been staying in separate rooms at the hotel. The Foreign Ministry official said Kim had been “contemplating whether to return home or not” as the captain of the ship suggested that the two remain in Kenya and work together.

The Korean government is not aware of any financial troubles Kim might have had, said the Foreign Ministry source, and he had not shown any signs of depression. The two were working on the Geummi 305 as business partners, but Kim had not been paid his monthly wages by Kim Dae-keun. The captain had been unable to pay Kim as he was buried in debt.

The Koreans were released with the rest of the crew onboard the Geummi 305 last Wednesday, apparently without paying a ransom.

“I cannot believe that my father, whom I spoke to over the phone just a few days ago, is dead,” Kim Jin-gon, 41, the son of the engineer, told Yonhap News Agency.

The son said he found it suspicious that the Korean government made such a forceful request for a thorough investigation.

“I believe the government is hiding something,” he said.

“Just a few days ago, my father called me and said he was healthy and was coming back home. I don’t know what is what, as this happened just a few days after,” the son said.

Kim’s body is currently at Pandya Memorial Hospital in Kenya.

By Christine Kim [christine.kim@joongang.co.kr]

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