At second Sewol hearing, victims’ families bristle as crewmembers “can’t remember”

Posted on : 2016-03-29 15:56 KST Modified on : 2019-10-19 20:29 KST
Families affected by 2014 sinking are sticking it out at hearing they say the government is trying to undermine
Sewol captain Lee Jun-seok hangs his head during the first session of 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
Sewol captain Lee Jun-seok hangs his head during the first session of 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

It was the morning of Mar. 28, and the second hearing was being held for the special fact-finding commission into the sinking of the Sewol ferry [in Apr. 2014]. For an instant, there was tension in the air of the multi-purpose hall on the eighth floor of Seoul City Hall, where the hearing was taking place.

When the crew of the Sewol entered the hall for the hearing, there was a stir from the gallery. Crewmembers including Lee Jun-seok, the captain, and Kang Won-sik, the first mate, were wearing their blue prison garb, along with hats and masks to cover their faces.

There were jeers from the audience, who shouted at the crewmembers to take off their masks and to say something. With garments wrapped around their hands to conceal the manacles, the crew members took their seats in the witness section along with attendants from the prison.

Commission Chair Lee Seok-tae asked the witnesses to remove the masks from the crewmembers faces “for their testimony and to help the hearing go smoothly,” and they removed their masks. 

 Mar. 28. (by Shin So-young
Mar. 28. (by Shin So-young
No-show by key witness disappoints victims’ families

Sitting in the second-level gallery, the eyes of about a hundred of the victims’ families were riveted as the crewmembers spoke. But when Lee Seok-tae announced that Park Han-gyeol, the third mate, and Park Gi-ho, the chief engineer - who had been cited as key witnesses - had decline to attend for “health reasons,” there were murmurs and sighs from the gallery.

Last week, Park Han-gyeol and Park Gi-ho informed the commission of why they would not be attending the hearing, the third mate because of eye pain and the chief engineer because of psychological stress. Lee Seok-tae visited the prison where the two are incarcerated in an attempt to convince them to attend the hearing, but they reportedly remained firm. With these two key witnesses refusing to attend, the hearing ran into trouble.

Cho Jun-gi, who was at the helm at the time of the accident, initially refused to testify at the hearing, but Lee persuaded him to change his mind. Kim Yeong-ho, the second mate, came to the hearing, but he would not enter the witness seat when he learned he would have to remove his mask during the hearing. After being given permission to keep his mask on, he finally entered the witness section at 10:45.

Before the second hearing began, Jeon Myeong-seon, chair of the operating committee of an association representing family members of victims, spoke on behalf of all the family members. “The reality is that, so far, nothing has come to light and no measures have been taken to hold the government responsible for its mistakes. Considering that this hearing is being held in order to correct this reality, at least to a small degree, we hope that the witnesses will all come forward and make sincere and truthful responses appropriate to the occasion and in line with the goals of the second hearing,” Jeon said.

After noting that the special commission had asked the National Assembly secretariat for the hearing to be held at the National Assembly but that the secretariat had rejected this idea, Jeon criticized the government and the ruling party for attempting to suppress the activity of the special commission.

“The government is using its investigative bodies and budget in an attempt to squelch the investigation itself. The National Assembly is trying to block the special committee’s request for the special prosecutor,” Jeon said. “The victims’ families and the Korean people will never give in or give up in our efforts to bring the truth to light.”

The victims’ families watching the hearing rested their chins in their hands with severe expressions on their faces. Some of them frowned, and some of them cried. 

 staff photographer)
staff photographer)
Witnesses give conflicting testimony about the alarm before the ferry sank

Just as in the first hearing, witnesses once again said that they did not remember what had happened.

Around 2 pm, Kim Seo-jung, a member of the special commission, pressed Cho Jun-gi on why his answers differed from his written statement to the police. Cho said that he did not remember. There were flashes from press cameras trained on the witness as he checked the statement he provided to the police.

When Kim pointed out to Cho once again that he had told the coast guard that he had used the left tiller and the police that he had used the starboard tiller, Cho offered an ambiguous answer: “I always said that I used the port tiller. The reason the starboard tiller came up was only because I had hypothetically stated that I might have used the starboard tiller.”

There were also contradictions between the witnesses’ testimony. Kang Won-sik and Lee Jun-seok had different recollections about whether an alarm had been heard on the ferry at the time of the tragedy. Their conflicting answers aroused a commotion from the victims’ families, who were sitting in the middle of the gallery on the second floor, dressed in yellow.

“The testimony of the victims conflicted when we were getting close to the actual truth. Since the hull of the ship is still below water, it’s impossible to confirm what state it is in. We need to raise the hull,” Kim said. His remarks triggered a loud round of applause from the victims’ families, apparently in agreement with the idea.

Not all of the responses were sincere. Jang Wan-ik, a member of the commission, asked Kang Won-sik what he thought his role was as first mate, but Kang only responded that he was the first mate. When Kang repeated the question, Kang said, “I was on duty.” Asked whether he ought not to have taken preparations to evacuate the ship, Kang said that he did not remember.

“The law says you’re supposed to do your best to notify radio stations located in the most convenient location for rescuing a vessel or an aircraft that is in distress. Shouldn’t you have taken measures to find out who you need to contact to allow the ship to be rescued?” asked Jang, citing Article 28 of the Radio Communications Act. But Kang Sang-bo, who was head of the Vessel Traffic Services (VTS) on Jeju Island at the time, made excuses and tried to justify himself. This prompted the victims’ families to complain that this was “going too far.”

When asked about who exactly had written a report about the storage of VTS communications prepared by a contractor called GCSC two months after the tragedy, Kang gave the flippant response that “I guess it was the guy in charge,” eliciting vulgar remarks from the gallery.

In response to a question about why the name of the author was not written on the report, Kang suggested that the author did not know how to write a report. This provoked perplexed and dejected laughter from a member of the victims’ family, who said, “You deserve a beating. To think you call yourself a company president!” 

At the request of the victims’ families and directive of the committee chair
At the request of the victims’ families and directive of the committee chair
Members of the public arrive early to attend the hearing

The victims’ families gathered at the memorial altar in Ansan at 6:30 in the morning and boarded two buses that brought them to the hearing. They all ate lunch separately in central Seoul.

Kim Hong-yeol, 49, had been working at the Siwha industrial park, but he quit his job after his son Kim Min-seong, a second year student at Danwon High School in Ansan, died in the tragedy. During the hearing, Kim left the gallery to take a break outside.

“I was so frustrated that I had to step out. It made me angry to hear the crewmembers make these insincere responses and say they don’t remember,” Kim said.

“I also couldn’t shake the feeling that the crew got together before coming here to make sure their stories matched. The commission members have done their best to gather materials and to prepare for the hearing, but a commission that isn’t able to indict anyone or launch an investigation is powerless. Even though the chair of the commission is equivalent in rank to a minister, I’m well aware that the government is not backing up the commission’s work.”

“I know that nothing is going to change just because I attend this hearing. Still, I thought that our coming out today would encourage the commission members. I’ll be here tomorrow, too.”

About 30 members of the public got in line around 6 am in order to see the hearing. One of them was Kim Mi-suk, 42, who joins a daily protest in front of Hongik University Station along with the family members of Heo Da-yun, a girl in the second year of Danwon High School whose body was never recovered. Kim and the other protestors hold pickets calling for the hull of the Sewol to be raised.

“This hearing is history in the making, and I really wanted to see it for myself even if it meant rearranging my schedule. I also wanted to be there for the victims’ families,” Kim said.

By Heo Seung and Choi Woo-ri, staff reporters

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

 

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