[Editorial] Park Geun-hye now must explain her missing Sewol seven hours

Posted on : 2017-03-24 13:57 KST Modified on : 2017-03-24 13:57 KST
Workers from the Chinese company Shanghai Salvage prepare to load the Sewol ferry on a barge
Workers from the Chinese company Shanghai Salvage prepare to load the Sewol ferry on a barge

The Sewol ferry has emerged after 1,073 days under the sea. It has been a crushing experience for the South Korean public to see the ghastly marks of blackish rust and scratches, rather than the pale image they once had to achingly view from a distance. That’s to say nothing of the anguished victims’ family members crying that it was their children there on that rusted heap. Why did it take three years for a raising that could have happened overnight? The Sewol itself is testimony to all of us of how mishandled everything has been, from the sinking itself to the failed rescue and now the belated raising.

We must make sure there are no mistakes as the raising effort is quickly completed, and we must also ensure nothing goes wrong when the still missing victims are recovered shortly. Those victims’ family members have endured a living hell over this dark period, facing the cold north wind on Donggeocha Island (near the site of the sinking), sadly praying in the streets for their missing loved ones to be recovered. The only way to remove even a shred of their suffering is to ensure that all of their loved ones are recovered.

The raising of the hull should also be an occasion for relaunching the investigation into the truth behind the sinking. To begin with, there are questions that need to be answered about the raising process itself. Ever since the decision to raise the ferry was made in Apr. 2015, and a company was selected that August to perform the operation, the process has gone back and forth, with the decision to adopt a jacking barge approach instead after damage to the hull from using a crane. It is true that the conditions need to be right with tides and weather, but it’s also true that questions are being asked about why the raising has only succeeded now that the president has been removed from office. The Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries must clear the air fully to avoid any further speculation or controversy.

The causes of the sinking also need to be clearly explained. To date, it has emerged from the investigation and trials that the Sewol sank due to a combination of ill-considered hull renovations, overloading, and the helmsman’s lack of experience. But the National Intelligence Service’s actions at the time were dubious, and a theory that the Sewol clashed with a submarine has been suggested as scholars and internet users have provided radar and video analysis data. We hope an examination of the hull will bring the truth to light.

The issue of the bungled response to the accident, and who bears responsibility for it, is perhaps the key question that needs to be answered. The only punishment has been a three-year prison sentence for the captain on the Mokpo Coast Guard 123 vessel sent to the scene. Nothing has been learned about the responsibility of the Blue House, the administration or the Coast Guard leadership. Nobody there has been convicted - thanks to the president and others in power systematically hindering the investigation to cover up their own roles in the tragedy.

We must get to the bottom of all the cover-ups and investigation obstruction and punish those responsible. It’s the only way of preventing tragedies like this from happening again. It is a crime against the Sewol victims that the senior Blue House and administration figures responsible for this abuse of power are safe and sound, including former Blue House Senior Secretary to the President for Civil Affairs Woo Byung-woo, members of the prosecution leadership, and Lee Jung-hyun, the former Senior Secretary to the President for Public Relations who attempted to hinder broadcasters’ coverage of the incident.

It’s also urgent that we put another institution in place to uncover the truth. The Special Sewol Hull Examination Committee Act recently passed by the National Assembly was intended specifically for examination of the hull. While the committee is empowered to lodge accusations with Prosecutors and request investigation if need be, the scope of its activities is nonetheless limited. We need to reopen the Special Sewol Investigation Commission. There also needs to be a separate, vigorous investigation of some kind into responsibility for the botched response, along with the investigation obstruction tactics and cover-ups.

The South Korean people have been left enraged to learn that the same President who wasted a vital seven-hour period with hundreds of lives in the balance recently spent a full seven hours reading an interrogation report to avoid being punished herself. Now that the Sewol has broken the surface, we again call on Park Geun-hye to admit to, and frankly apologize for, those seven hours.

 near Donggeocha Island
near Donggeocha Island

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