Stellar Daisy shipping company chief gets prison term; Korea Shipowners' Association says accountability framework must be improved

[Financial News] The shipping company chief was sentenced to imprisonment in the appeal trial over the sinking of the Stellar Daisy. The Korea Shipowners' Association expressed regret and called for improvements to the accountability framework. It said that rather than assigning responsibility based solely on the outcome of an accident, the specific negligence of executives and employees and its causal connection to the accident should be examined rigorously.
In a statement on the 20th, the Korea Shipowners' Association expressed regret that Kim Wan-jung, former chairman of Polaris Shipping, had been sentenced to two years' imprisonment in the appeal trial over the Stellar Daisy disaster.
The association said, "The appellate ruling did not trust the Korean Register's inspection results and did not consider the objective, engineering-based analysis submitted to the court during the appeal proceedings." It added, "If the judiciary does not consider the expert findings of the neutral institution most trusted by the shipping industry, we do not know whose judgments we should trust in order to conduct business going forward."
The Busan High Court's Criminal Division 1 sentenced Kim Wan-jung, former chairman of Polaris Shipping, to two years' imprisonment on the 17th of last month in the appeal trial over the Stellar Daisy disaster. He had been charged with professional negligence resulting in death and professional negligence resulting in the sinking of a vessel. The former head of the maritime division and the head of the technical department, who were also indicted, received sentences of 18 months' imprisonment, suspended for three years, and 10 months' imprisonment, suspended for two years, respectively.
The Stellar Daisy sank on March 31, 2017, while sailing in the South Atlantic with 260,000 tons of iron ore aboard. Of the 24 crew members, only two Filipino crew members were rescued; 22 people—eight South Koreans and 14 Filipinos—went missing. The vessel had been converted from an oil tanker into an iron ore carrier, prompting criticism over hull safety management and operating practices, and calls for the shipping company's executives to be held responsible.
In addition to the Korean Register's views not being taken into account, the association highlighted the shipping industry's exposure to natural conditions such as weather, arguing, "The duty of care to ensure safety and the duty to prevent accidents must be strictly observed, but it is unjust to impose serious criminal liability solely because an accident occurred."
The lateral pressure that acted asymmetrically on the hull, cited as a cause of the accident, is understood to have resulted from natural phenomena. This is why the association stressed that the specific negligence of shore-based executives and employees and its causal connection to the accident must be examined thoroughly.
The association said, "A safety investigation should examine the entire process—from a vessel's structure and modifications to inspections, loading and unloading, maintenance, and risk reporting—and propose practical improvements." It added, "If responsibility for the outcome is imposed when the cause has not been clearly established, the standards for what should be done to prevent accidents could also become unclear."
It added, "Punishing shore-based employees could intimidate workers in the shipping industry and lead to a loss of competitiveness for South Korea's shipping industry," and called for improvements to the accountability framework for maritime accidents.
Meanwhile, settlements have been reached with the families of most of the victims. At the first trial, settlements were reached with the families of 19 of the 22 crew members, and at the appeal trial, agreements were reached with two more families. The appellate court also took this into account and reduced the sentences.
[email protected] Kim Yun-ho Reporter