Two Chinese fishermen were facing formal arrest by South Korea after they were believed to have injured four South Korean fishing officials who boarded their vessel, South Korean media said on Tuesday.
The vessel had been suspected of illegal fishing.
The two – the 36-year-old captain and a 29-year-old navigator – are among nine Chinese fishermen who were detained early on Monday after the conflict with the South Korean officials on the Yellow Sea, Yonhap said.
The South Korean coast guard imposed 15 million won ($13,292) bail for the release of the detained fishing boat. The remaining seven Chinese sailors were freed because they were not involved in the attack, said Yonhap.
All nine Chinese fishermen are now at the Mokpo port in South Korea, according to China Central Television.
Yonhap earlier reported that the four injured officials work for South Korea’s West Sea Fisheries Supervision Office, which is affiliated with the Ministry for Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries.
The ministry on Tuesday filed a protest over the attack to He Ying, consul general of the Chinese embassy in South Korea.
China felt “sad” about the conflict and promised to further promote the education of its fishermen to prevent similar attacks in the future, the Chinese official was cited by Yonhap as saying.
Beijing is working together with Seoul to verify the details of the conflict, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said on Monday.
Xinhua