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Kim Suk-kyoon, former director of the South Korean Coast Guard, testifies during an investigation of the Sewol ferry sinking in July 2014. (Lee Jung-woo, staff photographer)

Eleven members of the leadership of South Korea’s Coast Guard will stand trial for disregarding their responsibility to rescue the passengers on the Sewol Ferry. Five years and 10 months have passed since the ferry sank in April 2014.

A special team of investigators into the Sewol tragedy announced on Feb. 18 that it had indicted 11 Coast Guard officials, including former Director Kim Suk-kyoon, without detention on a range of charges, including neglecting their duty to carry out rescue operations. The indictments came 100 days after South Korea’s public prosecutors organized the team of investigators in November 2019.

At the time of the accident, investigators believe, the Coast Guard leadership ought to have told passengers to immediately evacuate the ferry and instructed the rescue team to enter the ship and rescue as many passengers as possible. Kim Suk-kyoon is one of 10 senior officials at the Coast 10 Guard who are being charged with manslaughter resulting from negligence on the job. Other officials facing charges include Kim Mun-hong, former head of the Mokpo Coast Guard Office; Kim Su-hyeon, former head of the Yellow Sea Coast Guard Office; and Choe Sang-hwan, a former deputy department head at the Coast Guard.

Investigators say that these Coast Guard officials — along with Kim Gyeong-il, former captain of Coast Guard Vessel 123, which was dispatched to the scene of the accident — were remiss in their duty to be alert on the job, leading to the death of 303 passengers on the ferry and the injury of 142 others.

Furthermore, Kim Mun-hong and a senior superintendent surnamed Lee were also indicted for instructing employees to draft a false report claiming that ferry passengers were instructed over the intercom to evacuate the ship at the time of the accident. Investigators are charging these two with the crime of obstructing the exercise of individual rights by overstepping their authority. Kim is also charged with submitting this false report to the Coast Guard headquarters, which counts as the crime of composing and submitting a forged document.

Last month, investigators asked for arrest warrants against Kim Suk-kyoon and five other Coast Guard officials on the charge of manslaughter resulting from negligence on the job, but the court rejected the request, concluding that investigators hadn’t demonstrated “the necessity or significance of detention.” After shoring up their evidence, the investigators handed the Coast Guard officials over for trial without detaining them.

The team plans to continue its investigation into the death of Lim Gyeong-bin, who was not immediately moved to the hospital despite needing emergency medical care, and into allegations of tampering with the Sewol’s digital video recorder (DVR).

By Park Jun-yong, staff reporter

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