Special investigation team secures audit records involving ferry disaster

A special unit of the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office launched Nov. 11 to reinvestigate the 2014 Sewol ferry disaster raided the Board of Audit and Inspection on Thursday, and secured audit records for the responsible government ministries from the aftermath of the sinking.

Shortly after the disaster, the audit agency conducted probes into those government bodies, including the Coast Guard, to find out why a new locally developed Navy ship was not mobilized to aid the rescue operations. The Navy had refused to deploy the ship, saying it was not fit to carry out the work.

At the time, the audit agency inspected what the government had done at the time of the rescue operations and looked for signs of government negligence or malfeasance. The unit said Thursday it was not seeking to press criminal charges against the audit agency.

By Choi Si-young (siyoungchoi@heraldcorp.com)