The Korean Coast Guard seized a Chinese fishing vessel and arrested nine fishermen who attacked and injured four officials of the West Sea Fisheries Supervision Office on Monday.

According to the coast guard, four Korean civil servants were attacked by Chinese fishermen when they attempted to board the Chinese vessel during a crackdown operation 75 kilometers off the coast of Hong-do in South Jeolla Province’s Heuksan County. The officials were airlifted to a hospital in the southwestern port city of Mokpo.

In the incident, which took place at 2:15 a.m., one official was knocked into the water, while three others sustained injuries to their heads and arms.

The Chinese vessel then attempted to flee Korean waters, but was chased and captured after about two hours by a coast guard vessel dispatched from Mokpo.

The incident came a day after the coast guard based in Taean, South Chungcheong Province captured two Chinese fishing vessels engaged in unlicensed fishing within Korea’s exclusive economic zone on Sunday. The arrest did not involve violence and the crews of the two ships were released on bail of 140 million won ($124,000). In addition, two other Chinese fishing vessels were captured off the coast of Jeju Island on Friday and Saturday.

As Chinese fishermen continue to engage in unlicensed fishing in Korean waters despite Seoul’s bolstering of crackdown activities, the number of seizures has increased sharply.

In 2010, local authorities captured 370 Chinese vessels engaged in unlicensed fishing in Korean waters. In 2011, the figure rose to 475.

On Dec. 12, 2011, a Korean coast guard officer was killed by the captain of a Chinese fishing vessel during a crackdown. The captain was tried in Korea and was sentenced to 30 years imprisonment on April 19. The ruling was met by criticism from Beijing, which claimed that the ruling was unjust.

Following last year’s incident, the Korean government announced a set of plans to bolster the coast guard’s capabilities.

According to the plans, 932.4 billion won will be injected into improving the coast guard’s training and equipment by 2015. The plans also included measures for issuing firearms to all personnel taking part in crackdown operations, and easing regulations for their use.

By Choi He-suk (cheesuk@heraldcorp.com)