Stabbing at sea raises China - S. Korea tension

This story was filed by CBS News' Audrey Yoo

(CBS) SEOUL - South Koreans slammed Chinese fishermen as "pirates" Tuesday, while President Lee Myung-bak vowed to spend more on policing the country's waters after a Chinese boat captain allegedly stabbed a Korean coast guard officer to death.

Lee Cheong-ho, 41, was allegedly stabbed Monday morning by the captain of a Chinese fishing boat after he raided a vessel suspected of fishing illegally off South Korea's northwest coast in the Yellow Sea. Lee died in hospital.

His death has provoked anger in South Korea reflected in Tuesday morning's news headlines.

"They Weren't Fishermen, They Were Pirates", said the JoongAng Ilbo newspaper, while the Yonhap News website said, "From Hammers to Lethal Weapons... Chinese Fishermen More Vicious than Pirates". A caption for an article in DongA Ilbo read simply, "Gangster Fishing".

On Tuesday afternoon, in Beijing, China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs called the officer's death an "unfortunate event" and expressed "regret" over the incident.

The statement fell short of South Korean demands for a public apology for what they see as an affront to their national sovereignty.

Several hundred political activists held a demonstration Tuesday in front of the Chinese Embassy in Seoul, during which a man in his thirties slammed his car into a riot police bus barricade.

The first time a Korean coast guard member died while raiding a suspected illegal fishing boat was in September 2008, when a Chinese fisherman struck him with a shovel.

Locals say Chinese fishermen have become increasingly violent against Korean coast guard personnel in recent years, and have been violating sovereign waters more frequently.

Korean authorities have seized more than 430 Chinese boats so far this year for fishing illegally in South Korean waters, compared to 370 in 2010, according to the Korea Coast Guard.

Since November 2010, the Korean government has made multiple requests to the Chinese Embassy to investigate the growing problem of illegal fishing by Chinese citizens, but the response has been minimal.

Observers say President Lee may postpone a scheduled visit to China next month over the dispute.