Civic groups protest dissolution of Sewol probe committee

South Korea’s civic groups called on the government Monday not to disband the Sewol Special Committee tasked with investigating the sinking of the Sewol ferry in 2014, four days after its term legally ended.

The public interest lawyers’ group Lawyers for a Democratic Society said its members will go on a hunger strike in protest against the government’s decision to dissolve the Sewol Committee.

“Our demand is simple. We want the government to guarantee the Sewol committee’s term by abiding by the law and to thoroughly find the truth about the Sewol disaster to build a safe society,” the lawyers said at a press conference in central Seoul. “We, lawyers, cannot celebrate the enactment of the country’s Constitution, leaving behind the reality in which illegal acts are committed under the name of the law.”

“One lawyer a day will fast to take action until our demands are met,” the group said. 

The government ordered the Sewol Special Committee to be dissolved as of June 30, citing the Sewol Special Act that took effect on Jan. 1, 2015. The act allowed the committee to probe the nation’s worst maritime disaster, which claimed 304 lives, for 18 months with another three months to report on their findings.

But families of the victims and civic groups claim that the committee was not launched until Aug. 4, when it was allocated the budget and manpower to investigate the incident. They argue that by law the committee has eight more months to continue the investigation.

Over the last years, questions have persisted as to whether sufficient investigation and legal measures have been taken to hold accountable all those responsible. A combination of illegal redesigns of the ferry, the overloading of cargo, the inexperience of the crew member steering the vessel and lax government regulations are thought to be some of the issues.

The Sewol committee so far has found that the 6,835-ton ferry carried 2,215 tons of cargo, more than double its cargo limit of 987 tons at the time of the sinking. It also filed a complaint against Kil Hwan-young, chief of the state-run Korea Broadcasting System, as well as the ruling Saenuri Party’s Rep. Lee Jung-hyun, who had been the senior public affairs secretary at Cheong Wa Dae, accusing them of peddling influence to sway news reports in favor of the government.

According to Lee Seok-tae, head of the investigation committee, the investigation is so far about 30 percent complete “due to uncooperative government agencies.”

Religious groups also joined the protest, urging the government to ramp up efforts to salvage the ferry to identify the cause of its sinking. They said the ship itself is a much-needed piece of evidence to find out the truth about the accident, as well as being a social legacy to preserve.

“The government’s ineffective preparatory work prevented the bow section of the ferry Sewol from being raised by late May. The salvage of it has been delayed three times, which left a part of the ferry damaged,” the groups, which included Buddhists and Catholics, said in a press conference.

An operation is underway to raise the Sewol ferry, but poor weather conditions and damage to the bow of the wreck have hampered the salvage efforts. The operation will resume on July 11.

“Lifting of the ferry Sewol is not only a national task that victims’ families and Koreans have wished to complete,” they said. “We will from the bottom of our hearts pray for those who still have not returned to their families.”

A total of 79 investigators from the Sewol Special Committee are currently continuing their probe despite the legal termination of their posts. Some 12 officials dispatched by the government returned to their former positions.

“We are not here to become fighters. We decided to come to work to find the truth about the disaster through a fair probe,” a 42-year-old investigator was quoted as saying in front of the office.

As they entered the office on July 1, the investigators were cheered and greeted by the families of Sewol victims, who shook hands with them and shouted “Thank you.”

Later in the day, family members of the victims delivered doorplates in a show of gratitude to 21 lawmakers of the opposition bloc who had promised to revise the Sewol Special Act to extend the Sewol Committee’s term. The lawmakers were those who agreed to meet the families among the total 153 lawmakers who joined the revision bill that was submitted on June 7.

Family members of victims are set to stage a sit-in from Wednesday and will hold a candlelight vigil to call for the rapid lifting of the ferry Sewol on Saturday at Gwanghwamun Square in central Seoul.

By Ock Hyun-ju (laeticia.ock@heraldcorp.com)