Seok Hae-kyun, the injured captain of Samho Jewelry, has regained consciousness, following an induced medical coma, for the first time in about two weeks after surgery, hospital officials said Thursday.

“As we were decreasing the doses of sedatives and painkillers, Seok regained consciousness, opening his eyes and responding to simple questions,” said an official from Ajou University Hospital in Suwon. “He’s been showing signs of consciousness occasionally since last Sunday afternoon, with the duration of being conscious lengthening.”

The 58-year-old captain of the freighter ship has received treatment at an intensive care unit due to severe wounds from the multiple gunshots sustained during the rescue operation after it was taken hostage by Somali pirates in the Arabian Sea on Jan. 21.

Although he regains consciousness occasionally, he doesn’t yet remember the moment of being shot and the medical treatment he has gone through, the official said.

“He showed some reaction to the question of where he is now, and recognized his family members, but he doesn’t remember the fact that he woke up last month,” the official said.

The hospital said that the captain has not completely recovered consciousness to the point where the artificial respirator could be removed.

Hospital officials said it will take a considerable amount of time before the captain will be able to regain his memory. They said he has been in a cycle of sleep and being awake a number of times a day.

“Captain Seok is expected to gradually recollect the past and gain a sense of reality. We expect the captain to soon have his air tube and respirator removed, which would indicate a breakthrough in his recovery,” the official said.

The hospital expects the removal of the respirator to be possible as early as next week.

After the rescue operation, he underwent two major operations in Oman and South Korea. He was able to breathe without the aid of a respirator last month briefly after being unconsciousness for 13 days. But he was put back on a respirator after showing signs of complications from pneumonia and had a bronchial tube attached, one day after first regaining consciousness.

His blood pressure, pulse and temperature are all regular according to the hospital.