Park calls for fundamental solution to red tides in southern waters

President Park Geun-hye rode on a Coast Guard boat on Tuesday to get a firsthand look at red tides that have been sweeping through waters off South Korea's south coast for weeks and taking increasingly heavy tolls on fish farms there. "It looks like the damage is greater than before," Park said while on board the boat off the coastal city of Tongyeong, some 450 kilometers south of Seoul. "This keeps happening like an annual event ... We need to put together a fundamental solution. We have to pool wisdom together with experts and fishermen to prevent this."    Tongyeong Mayor Kim Dong-jin told Park that the problems are so bad that he even hopes for a typhoon to come and clean up the red tide. Park said she understood the desperation of the fishing town because of the mayor's words.