FERRY OPERATION SUSPENDED DUE TO DEFICIT

[Anchor Lead]

Hundreds of island residents could become stranded when passenger ferries operating between the islands and the mainland on the west coast of Korea are suspended from Friday. The ferry operator has decided to close business due to mounting deficit, and finding a new one is not easy.

[Pkg]

Island residents disembark from a ferry with full armloads of daily necessities. Many also take the ferry to visit hospitals. This passenger ferry operating just once daily is the only transportation means for 780 residents of Oeyeondo, Nokdo and Hodo islands in the West Sea. But its operation will be suspended from Friday. The ferry operator has filed to close the route due to mounting deficit.

[Soundbite] Ko Jae-woo(Oeyeondo Island fishing community chief) : "It takes two days in a row to get a copy of resident registration. When things don't go as planned, we can't move around and become stranded."

The operator says there is nothing else it can do to avert the deep-rooted deficit.

[Soundbite] Kim Mi-kyung(Ferry operator CEO) : "The authorities or the local government should create conditions for ferry operation, but instead they pass the responsibility to operators."

The regional office of oceans and fisheries rushed to find a new operator, but to no avail. Having no choice, the office decided to deploy a daily administrative ship. Authorities review designating subsidized routes and providing state subsidies to compensate for losses.

[Soundbite] Choi Yong-seon(Boryeong City Gov’t) : "We will deploy an administrative ship to make sure island residents can travel around, and will designate subsidized routes so state-funded passenger ferries can operate stably."

Island residents will likely continue to face inconveniences for the time being, as it's unclear when subsidized routes will be designated and a budget will be set.