hankyoreh

The Sewol ferry sinking on Apr. 16

The campaign to learn the truth about the Sewol tragedy stands at a critical crossroads. The opposition parties and the Special Sewol Investigative Commission find themselves unable to overcome the obstacles thrown up by a government demanding that the commission wrap up its work at the end of June and a ruling party refusing to revise the Special Sewol Law.

But much of the truth still hasn’t been revealed, and new questions are still being raised. If we fail to learn any lessons and the truth remains hidden despite the 304 precious lives that were lost, South Korean society will be unable to make any forward progress.

If the commission is forced to conclude its investigation at the end of June and spend the next three months drafting a white paper and inspecting the hull as the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries intends, it is obvious that the government will be unable to fulfill the pledge it made when the Special Law was passed to learn the truth about the accident and take safety measures. Not only is the hull far from the only thing that needs to be inspected, but the commission may not even have time to do that, since it is unclear whether the hull will be fully raised by September.

It was recently disclosed that some of the iron bars that were loaded onto the Sewol beyond its capacity were supposed to be used in the construction of the Jeju naval base. There are quite a few questions that need to be answered, such as why the crew of the Sewol were on the phone with South Korea’s National Intelligence Service around the time of the accident, why the Ministry of Defense denied that the iron bars had been bound for the Jeju naval base and why these facts were not turned up in the prosecutors’ investigation. If the reason that the Sewol rashly left the port was because of the construction of the naval base, the government must also share some of the blame for this.

It can be inferred that South Korean President Park Geun-hye and the Blue House are behind the calls for the commission to wrap up its investigation. Considering that Park is still working with the Blue House administrator who orchestrated the activity of immoral groups who held an eating contest next to bereaved families of the Sewol victims who were in the middle of a hunger strike, Park appears to be the greatest obstacle.

After its crushing defeat in the Apr. 13 general election, the ruling Saenuri Party promised to stand up to the Blue House, but it remains anxious to stay in the Blue House‘s good graces and asked the opposition parties during the negotiations to leave the Blue House out of the investigation. This is not the stance that a responsible political party should take.

It is a shame that the three political parties - who pledged before the general election to revise the Special Sewol Law and afterward promised to work together to extend the commission’s investigative mandate - lacked the responsibility to put their words into action.

The groups who have exploited the fatigue that has set in two years after the Sewol ferry sank to urge South Koreans to forget about the tragedy continue to harp on about “time limits” and “budgets.”

“Can you please show us that sympathy and solidarity for those who have endured a tragedy play any role in Korean society?” pleaded Lee Tae-ho, a member of the standing committee for Sewol Solidarity. It is in times such as these that there is an especial need for enlightened people to show interest and to get involved.

Please direct questions or comments to [english@hani.co.kr]