The government remains firm not to directly negotiate with the pirates or pay ransom. Foreign Ministry said it will "not get dragged into" the psychological warfare often launched by the Somali pirates. Korea Herald Korean ships sail through the waters more than 500 times a year, so protecting all of them is impossible. Dong-A Ilbo "From March to October last year, a total of 925 Korean vessels passed by the waters off Somalia. More than 20 percent of the ships that pass through this pirate-infested region of the world are Korean-flagged vessels, and some 29 percent of its shipping freight must sail through this danger zone. JoonAng Daily Ships operated by large Korean conglomerates apparently hire former special forces soldiers who served in Eastern Europe or Central Asia, paying them more than $10,000 a day during the five to seven days the ship passes through pirate-infested waters. In most countries, It is no use deploying the destroyers after a commercial ship has been hijacked and it could actually endanger the lives of the hostages. Chosen Ilbo The news comes as a blow for Samho Shipping after it wrapped up a nightmarish seven months of negotiations with Somali pirates last November for the return of the Samho Dream, which was hijacked last April. The negotiations were reported to have been dragged out by major investors in the pirate ring, who kept hiking up the ransom amount.
The company ended up paying $9.5 million. earlier
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