South Korea: Thousands Demand Oil Spill Compensation

Thousands of people hit by South Korea’s worst oil spill have staged a protest rally in central Seoul to demand swift compensation.

Some 3000 marine farmers and other residents dramatised their plight by displaying oil-coated oysters, fish, anchovies and seaweed.

They demanded that parliament and the Samsung Group, South Korea’s biggest conglomerate and operator of a barge which caused the spill, swiftly compensate them for their threatened livelihoods.

Three people in the worst hit district have now committed suicide following delays by local officials in making payments.
“Samsung Group should promise unlimited accountability and unlimited compensation,” protesters chanted at the rally outside Seoul railway station.  Even if they don’t offer compensation, they may end up in jail. Samsung and Hebei Shipping, a Hong Kong corporation which owns the tanker, have now been indicted on charges of violating anti-pollution laws.