hankyoreh

Staff from Chonghaejin Marine answer questions during a testimony from behind a white screen on the second hearing for the special fact-finding commission into the sinking of the Sewol ferry in the multi-purpose hall on the eighth floor of Seoul City Hall

Allegations have surfaced that loudspeaker messages instructing passengers on the doomed Sewol ferry to “stay in their seats” were given on orders from the boat‘s operators at the Chonghaejin Marine headquarters. The claims were made during the second round of hearings on Mar. 28 and 29 for the special committee investigating the ferry’s sinking, which claimed over 300 lives in April 2014. Crew members on the vessel recalled hearing about “company orders to wait,” while others claimed that a “standby order” had been given after a call to the company. None of this emerged during the investigation and trial process. If it is true, then whoever was responsible should be held accountable for causing a delay in the rescue that resulted in an even greater tragedy. An investigation into the company’s staff now looks unavoidable.

Other evidence suggests the company wasn’t all that interested in a rescue at all. According to the accounts, no meeting was held in response to news of the sinking, nor were any rescue measures reported or ordered. We have to wonder just what had them so distracted.

The hearings have also uncovered evidence of collusion between Chonghaejin and the National Intelligence Service (NIS), and the agency’s involvement in the Sewol. Uniquely among seagoing vessels, the Sewol had the NIS listed in its reporting chain in the event of an accident. Company officials gave reports to NIS agents by text and telephone after the tragedy; phone calls continued into the next day. The ferry was also under strict security assessment by the NIS, with orders to add barbed wire, closed-circuit cameras, and other security features at its exclusive dock. NIS agents were listed among the contacts during the vessel’s purchase, and sources said the company had regular meetings with and occasionally entertained agency staffers. Taken together, it all seems to suggest major NIS connections with the ferry.

It‘s impossible to say for now what all of this means. What is clear, though, is the investigation and trial findings to date can’t explain away all of the questions these revelations raise. We have to wonder whether they were properly investigated at all. If the authorities did rush to close the case while leaving all sorts of disturbing questions unanswered, then it‘s only right that we should have a thorough investigation now.

Things aren’t looking good. The special committee has no authority to investigate or indict on its own, so it can’t look into or issue punishments for any new irregularities that emerge in the testimony. A bill to request a special prosecutor’s investigation to address these problems has been foundering in the Saenuri Party-dominated National Assembly. A lot of other things have happened to suggest the party is trying to neutralize or starve the committee. We have to wonder what they‘re so afraid of.

Mar. 28. (by Kim Bong-kyu

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