On June 17, a seminar was held at the NCCK building, “Inquiring into the Issue of Revealing the Truth about the Sewol Incident”, hosted by the Sewol Ferry Tragedy Task Force.
NCCK had established this task force after the tragic sinking of the Sewol Ferry, with the loss of over 300 lives, to consider ways the churches could assist with the situation that had so much affect on the entire country. Chair of the Task Force, Rev. Lee Seung Ryul, in his welcome to the seminar, said “Churches have to take its responsibility to cry with the victims, to give comfort and healing to the situation. And the families of victims want the truth to be revealed and call for appropriate punishment for all of those responsible for the loss of life. That’s why it is a critical task of churches to support the actions to reveal the entire truth of this tragedy. We will strongly urge the government to make and implement a special law that truth will be revealed transparently and objectively in order that such a needless tragedy will not take place again.”
Four panelists participated in the discussion.
The first was Rep. Jung Chung Rae, a member of the National Assembly opposition New Politics Alliance for Democracy, who is a member of his party’s Sewol Incident Special Law Preparatory Committee. He explained the direction of the investigation in the government, outlining the aspects of special interest.
These are the situation before and after the departure of the ferry from the port; interference of the government in ‘Golden Time’, the optimum time when rescues could have taken place; the government’s actions or efforts for rescue while the ferry was gradually sinking. It is the responsibility of the National Assembly to reveal the truth of this tragedy, to heal the trauma of the whole nation and the deep wounds of those directly affected.
The Preparatory Committee has called for resources to be available to them for a transparent and thorough investigation, but they have been withheld. He says the continuous pressure of citizens is necessary for the investigation to be carried out.
The second panelist was Shin Sang Cheol, an private investigator who had been involved in revealing the truth of the incident of the sinking of the ROK Navy Ship Cheonan in 2010. He raised a number technical questions of interest to investigators, some having to do with the amount and security of cargo on the ship, some having to do with the real time of the incident (a request for rescue came at 7:30, but the government information says it was 8:50), some having to do with why certain rescue devices were not used, and some about damage to the ship, which no one has been allowed to closely investigate yet. There are suspicions about these questions, but the government has not given answers yet.
He emphasized the need to preserve evidence to investigate the cause of the incident. He also insisted that the ferry should not be scrapped and be preserved to give lessons to the next generation, showing that carelessness over security and no preparation for grave calamities can cause the massive sacrifice of precious lives.
The third panelist was lawyer Park Ju Min. His interest was the communication that happened or did not happen between Jeju Vessel Traffic Service and Jindo. When a ship is in distress, the different departments should communicate with each other, but there was none. As well, why does the Coast Guard information not match the statements that came from Jindo Vessel Traffic Service?
His experience is that when reasonable questions are raised, those asking are accused of being ‘communist sympathizers’. He said for the nation’s sake, an investigation must be carried out, and it cannot be a matter of political profit for one party or another.
The last of the panelists was independent journalist Choi Kyung Young, who spoke of the detrimental role of the major media. He pointed to the major broadcasting systems who are deleting the original tapes of the news stories having to do with the Sewol. He argued that original information must be preserved and hidden information must be opened, so that accurate information can be brought out.
The NCCK is participating in a nation-wide call for thorough investigating to take place, and the passage of a law to remove abuses of power that presently exist between government and business that can lead to situations like these accidents. NCCK is inviting signatures for this campaign. There is an on-line website, where individuals can sign, an online form which can be downloaded for churches to have their members sign, and also NCCK staff are collecting signatures on the street. NCCK will convey the signatures to the families of victims and then the families will submit all the signatures from all over the country to the National Assembly in order to urge the establishment of the “Sewol Ferry Special Law”.
This issue must not go away. Citizens must continue to push for the livelihood of the nation.
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