0		Chosun, Desk, Hebei, Spirit, Case, and, Indian, Boycott, Movement

The United Kingdom's Financial Times recently published an article headlined, "Seafarers free to boycott Korea".

Protesting the arrest of the captain and chief officer of the Hebei Spirit, which was involved in the Taean Sea oil spill, the sailors are refusing to come back to Korea. The newspaper reported that if the boycott movement grows, Korea will be placed in a very serious situation, as it imports all of its energy from abroad. The paper also reported that in India a movement has begun to boycott Korean products.

Such anti-Korean sentiments began when the Hebei Spirit's captain and chief officer, found not guilty at trial after the October oil spill in the Taean Sea, were sentenced to 18 months and 8 months in prison, respectively, on appeal. The Financial Times explained, "many involved believe coastal states’ authorities find it easier to blame pollution and other effects of accidents on foreign seafarers than on local companies or officials who may have been at fault."

On this news, the Ministry of Land, Transport, and Maritime Affairs (국토해양부) immediately put out a response on a one-sided A4 paper. "To prevent an unfortunate situation, we plan to meet with Indian authorities for talks on working together more closely," it says. "We understand that reaction to the boycott among the Indian public has been weak, and the media currently are not supporting the boycott of Korean goods and other actions the sailors have called for."

Is this really just a happening which does not need to cause worry, as the Ministry claims?

After the Indian-born captain and chief officer were arrested, on December 16th the Indian groups NUSI and MUI sent out an e-mail to 20,000 sailors and their families calling for a boycott of Korean goods. Five days later in Chennai, a port city in southeastern India, over 500 people (1,500 by media estimates) held a protest. Some protestors went to a Samsung Electronics factory and shouted, "Korea and Samsung Electronics get out!" On December 23rd at a protest in Mumbai, Samsung-made mobile phones and televisions were destroyed.

A Chennai-based member of the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA, 대한무역투자진흥공사), said "when you consider the inclinations of the Indian people, the large-scale demonstrations by the Indian sailors' organizations could spark a widespread boycott of Korean goods such as Hyundai cars and Samsung and LG electronics, so the government has to take effective counter-action. If the sailors are not released then Hyundai cars might not be able to come in."

The problems with the case being pointed out in foreign countries may cause a debate on the rightness or wrongness of the Hebei Spirit captain and chief officer's arrests.

But the debate has caused anti-Korean sentiment to grow, and with the boycott of Korean goods underway the authorities will continue to ignore their duties.

The angered Indian populace could easily decide to hurt Korea. The government must act in accordance with a correct understanding of the situation. A bad economic situation must be prevented.