On April 16, 2014, the cargo/passenger ferry Sewol capsized off the southwestern coast of Korea. Of the 476 passengers and crew aboard, 304 died, the majority of which were high school students on a school field trip. Now, almost three years later the ferry has finally been salvaged.
Sewol-ho ferry placed on semi-submersible ship, separated from two barges
MV Sewol left Inchon bound for Jeju on the morning of April 16, 2014. 325 abaord were high school students on a class trip. The ferry sailed with inadequate stability, poorly secured cargo and improper ballast. Off Byeongpungdo, Korea the ferry developed a list after making a turn and subsequently capsized and sank.
The sinking of the ferry contributed to a political crisis in Korea which ultimately led to the fall of the government. In mid-March the Constitutional Court of the Republic of South Korea removed President Park Geun-hye from office, confirming a parliamentary vote to impeach her. While she was charged specifically for her role in a corruption and influence-peddling scandal, many believe that President Park’s downfall began with the tragic capsize and sinking of the cargo/passenger ferry MV Sewol on April 16, 2014.
President Park Geun-hye was notified of the capsize immediately by the Korean Coast Guard, but seemed to drop out of sight for seven hours. Her inability to account for those seven hours has remained a contentious issue of the last three years, as did the slow pace of salvaging the sunken ferry, which may contain the bodies of several of the high school students who are still missing.
The Sewol tragedy continued to play an important role in protests which continued right up until Present Park’s impeachment. In a real sense, the death of the high school students put a human face on the long term problems of Korean corporate and governmental corruption and cronyism. Suki Kim, writing in Slate notes:
...It’s not surprising that Koreans have held onto the memories of the 2014 Sewol Ferry disaster, in which over 300 high school students sat orderly in a sinking ship because they had been told by the adults to sit and wait. It is notable how the students sat so deferential to the orders of the authority, but that’s only a part of the story. The disaster has been linked to federal-level corruption involving the ferry owners, the insurance company, the Korea coast guard, and the Korean navy, none of which Park has properly addressed to the public, nor has she explained her whereabouts during the seven hours of desperation that ensued when she went missing. Rumors about what she was up to ran rampant, from a secret rendezvous with a former aide (who just happens to be Choi’s ex-husband), to Park having been indisposed at a shamanistic gut ritual, to a cosmetic surgery. That horror and sense of betrayal have stuck with the people, and now the resentment is being claimed and exploited by her opposition.
Thanks to Phil Leon for contributing to this post.