Court finds late disabled climber not exempt from gov't rescue expense bill

The Korea Times

The Korea Times

National

Tue, September 26, 2023 | 04:14

Law & Crime

Court tells alpine club to pay for search operations for renowned missing climber

Posted : 2023-08-24 15:30

Updated : 2023-08-25 11:40

Late Kim Hong-bin raises his fingerless hands at the base camp in the Himalayas before climbing the Broad Peak in July 2021. Courtesy of Korean Olympic Committee

Mountaineers association pleads mercy; central gov't adamant with law

By Ko Dong-hwan

Kim Hong-bin, a fingerless mountaineer who went missing after climbing Broad Peak in the Himalayas in 2021 to become the world's first disabled person to scale all 14 Himalayan peaks of 8,000 meters or greater in height, inspired people so much that they voted for him to be declared a national sports hero posthumously later that year.

However, the glory seems to have been short-lived in the wake of a court ruling ordering the late climber's teammates of the Gwangju Alpine Federation to pay the cost of search operations conducted to find him.

On June 23, the Seoul Central District Court ruled that the Gwangju Alpine Federation should pay the government 25 million won ($19,000) for using a Pakistani military helicopter that was arranged by the Embassy of Korea in Pakistan. Kim's five teammates are also ordered to pay a combined 10 million won for transporting them from the base camp in the Himalayas to the nearby Pakistani city of Skardu.

But the Ministry of Justice that represented the central government in the legal dispute appealed, saying the federation should shoulder the entire cost of 68 million won.

For Pi Gil-yeon, the president of the Gwangju Alpine Federation who has known Kim since 1984 and started officially sponsoring his alpine career in 2013, the government's "merciless" legal stance was harsh and hard to understand.

Kim conquered the highest summits in seven continents and 14 Himalayan peaks that are more than 8,000 meters in height above sea level.

Following his loss, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism bestowed upon him the Blue Dragon Medal, the country's highest order of sports merit, in August 2021.

"He has all these track records that contributed to raising the country's international recognition despite a physical impairment," Pi told The Korea Times. "Nonetheless, the government is eager to get even on the money issue. I think that is just too harsh."

A ceremony marking the second anniversary of the death of Kim Hong-bin is held in Gwangju, July 15. Newsis

The justice ministry told The Korea Times that the federation is obliged to indemnify the bill because of the country's Act on Consular Assistance of Protecting Overseas Korean Nationals.

It states that a Korean when undertaking activities in an overseas country should bear any expenses in protecting their life and property in the course of receiving consular assistance.

There are two exceptions ― either that person is deemed unable to cover the expenses by himself or the Korean government mobilized transportation means to assist that person in case of a disaster overseas. Kim's case fell under neither of those conditions, according to the authority.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs which handles the law told The Korea Times that despite his background, Kim's case cannot be considered exceptional and is subject to the law.

"It's truly regretful that his federation has been charged with the money after all that he has accomplished as a mountaineer," said an official from the ministry.

"But it's like a person asking to grant him a pardon from taking the country's mandatory military service because he did something commendable. That is unfair for others and unacceptable."

When the news that Kim had gone missing reached the federation from the base camp on June 19, 2021, the group agreed with the Korean Embassy in Pakistan to compensate all the search-and-rescue expenses covered by the embassy.

The court said the agreement ― shown by text communications between one of the federation members and an official from the embassy via KakaoTalk app messenger ― proves the legitimacy of the federation's responsibility to cover the expenses.

While an appellate court's decision remains pending, Pi is still reluctant to accept the reality that the late sports hero who pushed the boundaries of his physical limitation isn't seen as important enough by the government to cover the cost of the search-and-rescue mission.

"He once told me that if he ever surmounts the 14 Himalayan peaks, he would end his alpine career and launch a philanthropic foundation for youths and those with disabilities," Pi said.

Kim lost his fingers due to frostbite when climbing Mount McKinley in Alaska in 1991.

"He was passionate, wild and watched his friends' backs," Pi added.

aoshima11@koreatimes.co.kr