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Korean Coast Guard chief offers to resign over officer's death during rescue attempt

Published: 16 Sep. 2025, 16:50 Updated: 16 Sep. 2025, 19:54

LIM JEONG-WON
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Korea Coast Guard Commissioner General Kim Yong-jin, right, bows his head in apology to the bereaved family of Sergeant Lee Jae-seok, who died while rescuing an elderly man stranded in a tidal mudflat, during a memorial ceremony held at Incheon Maritime Police Precinct on Sept. 15. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]

Korea Coast Guard Commissioner General Kim Yong-jin offered his resignation over the recent death of Sergeant Lee Jae-seok, who died while rescuing an older man stranded in a tidal mudflat.

“I feel a heavy sense of responsibility following the president’s remarks regarding the death of a Coast Guard officer in the line of duty,” said Kim in a statement released to the media late Monday. “I am offering my resignation in the hope that it will contribute to uncovering the truth and to building a renewed Coast Guard.”

President Lee said Monday that “the investigation must be handled not by the Coast Guard, but by an independent and impartial body.”

“The president took note of testimony from colleagues stating that upper management of the Coast Guard had attempted to cover up the truth,” said presidential spokesperson Kang Yu-jung in a briefing on Monday. “He ordered the investigation to ensure that the bereaved family and the officer’s colleagues are not left with unresolved grievances.”

The local leadership involved in the same incident has also been removed from duty.

On Tuesday, the Korea Coast Guard announced that Lee Gwang-jin, chief of the Incheon Maritime Police Precinct, had been placed on standby and reassigned to the Central Regional Coast Guard Headquarters. The head of the Yeongheung substation and the duty team leader on the night of the incident were also suspended from duty.

Members of the Coast Guard cry during a memorial ceremony for late Sergeant Lee Jae-seok, who died while rescuing an older man stranded in a tidal mudflat, at Incheon Maritime Police Precinct on Sept. 15. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]

The Incheon Precinct had come under fire for its response to the incident, which occurred last Thursday in a tidal mudflat off Yeongheung Island in Incheon.

Lee Jae-seok, a sergeant with the Yeongheung substation, went missing at around 3:30 a.m. while trying to rescue a man in his 70s who had become trapped in the mud. He was found six hours later in cardiac arrest and confirmed dead at the hospital.

He is believed to have removed his own life vest to give to the injured man as the water rose to waist level. The two began moving toward shore together when Lee was swept away.

Although six officers were on duty at the substation at the time, four were on break, and Lee responded to the incident alone. Additional support was delayed.

On the day before Kim’s resignation, four fellow duty officers held a press conference, alleging that the substation chief had instructed them to remain silent about the incident, saying, “We must make Lee a hero.”

Members of the Coast Guard and others pay respects to Sergeant Lee Jae-seok, who died while rescuing an older man stranded in a tidal mudflat, during a memorial ceremony held at Incheon Maritime Police Precinct on Sept. 15. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]

Violations of several regulations were confirmed during the incident, including the two-person dispatch rule and a maximum three-hour rest period during night shifts.

The Central Regional Coast Guard has also suspended the activities of an internal fact-finding team composed of six outside experts. Although the Coast Guard launched its own investigation on Saturday, the internal team halted its work after the president ordered that the case be transferred to an independent body.

The initial fact-finding team had included the head of the Korea Maritime Safety Association, officials from the Incheon Police and Fire Departments, legal experts, university professors and a maritime disaster responder. The investigation is now expected to be handled by an external agency.

“The team is currently on standby,” said a Coast Guard official. “It has not yet been decided which agency will take over the investigation.”

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY JEONG JAE-HONG, LIM JEONG-WON [[email protected]]