Friday, April 17, 2015

The Anniversary of Sewol Ferry Disaster that Killed More than 300, most of them Children: The ferry was structurally unsound and overloaded, and many of the children followed instructions to stay in their cabins as the crew scrambled to safety in what was widely criticized as a botched rescue operation.



Thousands of mourners attend a rally to commemorate the first anniversary of the Sewol ferry disaster that killed more than 300 passengers, in central Seoul April 16, 2015. REUTERS/Kim Hong-Ji

Thousands of mourners attend a rally to commemorate the first anniversary of the Sewol ferry disaster that killed more than 300 passengers (most of them children), in central Seoul April 16, 2015. REUTERS/Kim Hong-Ji
Reuters
By Ju-min Park and Sohee Kim

ANSAN, South Korea, April 16 (Reuters) – A day of mourning for the 304 victims of the Sewol ferry sinking was overtaken by acrimony on Thursday, as organizers called off a ceremony planned to mark its one-year anniversary to protest against the South Korean government’s response to the disaster.

The main group representing bereaved families said the government had let them down again by failing to announce by the anniversary a decision to raise the ship in hopes of finding the bodies of nine victims still missing.

The group’s leader also cited President Park Geun-hye’s decision not to attend the memorial service as a reason for calling it off. Instead, Park visited the southwestern port of Jindo, which had served as a makeshift morgue when the ferry sank on April 16 a year ago.

“We want to say how disappointed we are that the government and the president have made it impossible for the families to hold this memorial service,” the group’s leader, Yoo Gyoung-geun, announced outside the hangar-like structure that houses a memorial altar for the Sewol victims.
“They are going to have to take responsibility.”

The year since the ferry sank during a routine voyage from Incheon to Jeju island has been one of both grief and anger towards the government for the families of victims.

Park’s prime minister was booed off by an angry crowd when he tried to visit the memorial altar in Ansan, home of Danwon High School, which lost 250 of its students on a class trip.

Park was heckled in Jindo, where she paid her respects at the dock lined with yellow flags carrying messages for the victims against the backdrop of a windy sea.

She said the government would begin preparing to raise the 6,800-tonne submerged ship, her clearest indication of a plan to recover it. The families and political opponents have accused the government of dragging its feet.

“I earnestly ask that we step beyond the pain of the Sewol, overcome the adversity and trial and go on the road of creating a new country,” Park said.
In Ansan, a long line of mourners waited in the rain as an outdoor stage for the memorial and rows of chairs stood empty.

Some family members of the victims and groups supporting their cause held a gathering in central Seoul late in the day, overseen by a heavy police presence which blocked them when they attempted to disrupt traffic and start marching on streets.

The Sewol set off on April 15 last year from Incheon, west of Seoul, for a routine overnight voyage to Jeju with 476 people on board. It capsized while making a sharp turn off Jindo.

It was later found to have been structurally unsound and overloaded, and many of the children followed instructions to stay in their cabins as the crew scrambled to safety in what was widely criticized as a botched rescue operation. 
(Writing by Jack Kim; Editing by Tony Munroe and Paul Tait)
© 2015 Thomson Reuters. All rights reserved.


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A lesson to learn from the ferry disaster in South Korea

Posted in: Criminal Law. 5 Comments
By Chung Pui Ying



Background
On April 26, 2014, Sewol capsized and sank on a routine voyage from Incheon to Jeju Island. 304 out of 476 passengers on board were confirmed dead or missing, and among 250 of them were high school students who went on a school trip.

Causes of the heavy casualties
Firstly, the ferry was overloaded. The loosely-tied cargo exceeded twice the carrying limit, which accelerated the sinking. Investigation also discovered that it was not the first time that Sewol carried excess cargo to earn extra profit.

Secondly, the interior design of Sewol was questionable. Since the vessel was renovated in 2013 to accommodate additional passengers in the top floor, the increased carrying capacity may bring about the possibility of imbalance and top-heavy during voyage.

Besides, the crew’s craven and selfish actions of abandoning the vessel but telling passengers to stay were widely criticized. It is believed that more passengers could have been rescued if the captain could instruct the evacuation properly.

In addition, only an inexperienced third mate was at helm when the accident happened, while the captain was in his bedroom. In fact, a third mate could only navigate solely in a safety sea area. Yet, the accidental sea area was one of the most dangerous waters in South Korea, which meant the captain must accompany and direct the sailor to guide the ship.

Relevant articles and the verdict
Prosecutors sought for death penalty according to Article 250, Criminal Act (Republic of Korea, 2005). It stated that a person who kills another should receive death penalty or life imprisonment or more than five years.

However in November, the captain was only found guilty of negligence and dereliction of duty, but was acquitted of homicide. According to the judge, it could not be proved that he realized his actions were causing more than 300 deaths. He was sentenced to 36 years imprisonment.

Only the chief engineer was culpable of homicide and was sent to jail for 30 years. He was accused of abandoning his two colleagues and not helping them to ask rescuers for help, even though he knew his help would save their lives. The remaining crew was convicted of various charges, sentenced up to 20 years in prison.

The CEO of Chonghaejin Marine, Sewol’s company, was found guilty of allowing the overloading of ferry and approving illegal refurbishment. He was sentenced to 10 years imprisonment.

Nevertheless, the trial was not satisfying for the victims’ parents and relatives. For them, the punishment was not harsh and deterrent enough.

Suggestions
Currently there is no regulation in South Korea to monitor the modification in vessels. Ship companies may make use of this loophole to refit ferry in order to increase carrying capacity. It is suggested that the government could impose clear guidelines and requirements on the modification regarding the safety issue to protect passengers.

The crew’s reaction clearly showed the lack of evacuation training and monitoring of navigation. It is suggested that all crew members should be well-trained with evacuation skills, and educated with morals and ethics. They should be selfless and put passengers’ lives in front of theirs. Besides, the law should be strictly followed. Sanctions should also be imposed on ship companies who disobey the laws (Lawson; Weisbrod, 2005).

Conclusion
In short, this massive ferry disaster is what all we don’t want to see. To avoid the reoccurrence, South Korea government should review its navigation laws and regulations and impose measures to improve the monitoring system. The misbehavior of the crew members should be condemned but imprinted in people’s mind to prevent it from happening again.



References

Borowiec, S. (2014). Nearly 300 missing after South Korea ferry sinks. Los Angeles Times. Retrieved from http://www.latimes.com/world/worldnow/la-fg-wn-south-korea-ferry-hundreds-missing-20140416-story.html

Jindo, M. M. (2014). South Korea ferry disaster: third mate at wheel was navigating route for first time. The Telegraph. Retrieved from http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/southkorea/10776250/South-Korea-ferry-disaster-third-mate-at-wheel-was-navigating-route-for-first-time.html

Lawson, C. T., & Weisbrod, R. E. (2005). Ferry transport: the realm of responsibility for ferry disasters in developing nations. Journal of Public Transportation8(4), 17.

McCurry, J. (2014). South Korea ferry verdict: Sewol captain sentenced to 36 years in prison. The Guardian. Retrieved from http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/nov/11/south-korea-ferry-verdict-sewol-captain-sentenced-to-36-years-in-prison

Park, M. (2014). What went wrong on Sewol? CNN. Retrieved from http://edition.cnn.com/2014/05/15/world/asia/sewol-problems/index.html?iid=article_sidebar

Park, J. M. (2014). South Korea court jails captain of doomed ferry for 36 years. Reuters. Retrieved from http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/11/11/us-southkorea-ferry-idUSKCN0IV0CK20141111

Paula, H., Catherine E. S., Michael, P. (2014). South Korean shipwreck survivors: Passengers told ‘don’t move’ as ship sank. CNN. Retrieved from http://edition.cnn.com/2014/04/16/world/asia/south-korea-sinking-ship-students/

Reuters. (2014). South Korea court sentences ferry operator chief to 10 years in jail. Retrieved from http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/11/20/us-southkorea-ferry-idUSKCN0J40JP20141120

Republic of Korea. (2005). Criminal Act. Retrieved from http://www.acrc.go.kr/file/file.do?command=downFile&encodedKey=MTIxXzE=
5 comments on “A lesson to learn from the ferry disaster in South Korea”

Thank you for your sharing. The incident was with no doubt a tragedy, but also a reminder to all of us that an illegal practice can lead to fatal, irreversible mistakes…
In fact, this incident has revealed an obvious loophole in the regulations on vessels’ safety and the lack of training in evacuation and navigation. Regarding these major problems, the government and the lawmakers are duty-bounded to strengthen and further clarify the existing laws and the respective implementation. Ambiguities have to be eliminated in order to send a clear message to relevant parties about the importance of maritime safety management.
Moreover, training sessions and assessment should be held more regularly so as to keep sailors and cabin crew with updated skills and the readiness to due with any unexpected situations. Unqualified members have to attend make-up courses in order to return to his/her positions. I believe that strict supervision on the overall working attitude will be effective to sieve out irresponsible people such as those who sentenced to imprisonment.
In shorts, without the co-operation between the executive and legislative branches, similar scenarios will not be stopped from happening. Therefore, it’s time for the country to move forward and reshape a secure sea together.

Thank you for your post. This incident showed different problems of South Korea. Citizens, especially parents of victims, were extremely angry about the government and the crew member.
Some of the crew, including the captain, were caught on videotape abandoning ship while the children were told numerous times to stay put in their cabins where they awaited further orders.
In addition to reaction against the actions of the captain and much of the crew of the Sewol, there has been a much wider political reaction to the disaster. Criticism has ranged from anger at the lax regulatory environment which may have contributed to the safety violations that could have sunk the Sewol, to anger about the rescue operations, to anger at Park Geun-hye, the President of South Korea, whose approval ratings have fallen from a high of 71 percent before the disaster to “the 40 percent range” weeks afterwards.
Many parents of the victims of the tragedy have been expressing deep anger at the government, ranging from reportedly berating Prime Minister Jung Hong-won[283] to shouting at President Park Geun-hye, to parents staging protests at the presidential palace itself, partly inflamed by a reported remark by a senior news editor at the government-influenced Korean Broadcasting System that the number of dead in the ferry tragedy was “not many, compared with the number of people killed in traffic accidents each year”.
I think what the government can do is to prevent this incident happen again. Training provided, legislation and regulation can be done better.

Thank you very much for the post which helps to understand outline of Sewol Ferry Sank.
I spent most of my life in South Korea, and had once lived in Ansan, where the victims’ high school is located. After this tragic accident happened, the whole country was utterly devastated, mourned together after the loss of more than 300 lives, mostly high school students. Families of victims exploded with rage and heartbreaking grief. Some people blamed government while others brought charges against sailors and captain. The fact that this accident was entirely preventable made the citizens weighted with sorrow. If Sewol was NOT overloaded, If cargo on the ferry was properly secured, If ferry crews were educated properly on safety protocol, If the captain did not abandon the shop, and if passengers were told to move out of board. Then maybe this catastrophe would have never happened. Sewol ferry sank was not a natural disaster, it was obviously a man-made disaster. For this reason, people who found to have committed faults in the process of trial must have charged with heavy sentence.
I am aware that heavy imprisonment sentence cannot console victims’ families in grief for loss of their beloved children, families. However citizens need to feel that there must be justice in the country after all. We all must remember the time when we lost our friends and families and this must not be veiled by an argument whether the punishment is enough or not. This argument should have dealt separately with our mourning for the victims. I may seem emotional but as a citizen of Korea, I hope this accident will not be forgotten after tens of years. Tragic history must not be repeated and this can only be done by introspection and government effort to correct related laws and regulations.
Reference

Thank you for your post! I realized that the tragedy has raised awareness and concern in the globe.
I agree that the penalty and punishment are not harsh enough especially for the captain, who was acquitted of homicide. I think this judgment somehow having a mean of disrespect to the 300 deaths. Moreover, it is irrational and unfair that the accusation of the captain and chief engineer is indifferent as they were both criminal of the accident. However, instead of exerting the sin to the crew member, the corresponding ship company had the bear most of the responsibilities.
Instead of blaming the criminal, the most important thing to do is to prevent similar tragedy from happening.
Firstly, it is without doubt that captain should be well-trained and highly qualified. Professional evacuating skills should also be taught to all crew members. For the ship company, it is really shameful that having overloaded for earning more profit. Therefore, all ship companies should learn a lesson from this accident and ensure no more overload will be allowed in the future and regular inspection and maintenance are required. For they passengers, they should be taught the means for evacuations when they get on the ship such as watching relevant videos. Lastly, for the government, advertisement can be made to educate general public the evacuating skills and promote the ethical and moral standards.
References:

Thank you Chung Pui Ying for the post which reminds us once more of the tragedy in South Korea that is worth all of us to think about and the lesson we must learn from it. The structure of your post is very well written with clear and concise causes of the incident which made me understand the incident better. All of the causes of the tragedy can definitely be prevented, with tighter regulations on the amount of weight that can be carried on board and the the design of a boat. However the selfish acts of the crew members cannot be prevented and I do agree the sentence they received definitely do not do justice to the families of the thousands of deaths that occurred. It is true that safety procedures have to be done properly, However I think the more serious issue in this accident is the deeply engraved hierarchy system in the Korean culture, from the Confucianism. In the workplace, the workers who are lower in the hierarchy obey the ones who are higher in the rank or with authority and they do not dare to do anything that is against them. Similarly in this tragedy, many passengers obey what the crew members told them, the ones they consider to hold authority, to stay in the boat. However, I am positive about this as I do believe that they will learn from their mistakes after such tragedy that has shaken the nation.

 Source: http://hklawblog.com/2014/11/26/a-lesson-to-learn-from-the-ferry-disaster-in-south-korea/