Sewol remembered nationwide

South Koreans on Wednesday held countrywide memorial services the day before the first anniversary of the Sewol ferry disaster, which left hundreds dead and sparked nationwide calls to enhance safety standards.

Public attention centered on memorial services on Jindo Island, South Jeolla Province, as parents of the 250 high school students killed in the ferry disaster in April last year gathered to lay flowers at the accident’s site.

But parents said little had changed since the disaster.

“I had thought that commemorating the accident would suffice. But I know that we must do more. We need to unearth the still-unknown reasons for the disaster,” said Yoo Gyoung-geun, the father of a student killed in the disaster and a spokesperson for the bereaved families.

Later in the day, President Park Geun-hye urged officials to strengthen the enforcement of national safety rules and inspected government preparations for the anniversary’s memorial services on Thursday.

President Park also pressed officials to resolve disagreements with the bereaved families over reparation payments and a mandate creating an investigation panel on the Sewol disaster’s causes.

Officials had written a mandate authorizing what families claimed was a “half-hearted probe.” The mandate limited the investigation panel to 90 officials, lower than the 120 originally proposed.

The decree also put the panel under the watch of the government, arousing the suspicion of the bereaved families, who believe the government will limit investigations by attempting to control those involved in the probe.

Families have demanded a rewrite of the mandate to give the panel complete freedom to investigate the government without interference. They refuse to accept reparation payments until it is revised.

The president will attend a memorial service early Thursday before leaving on a 12-day tour of Latin America later in the day.

The nation was shocked in April last year when the 6,825 ton Sewol passenger ferry sank in waters off southwestern Korea, killing 304 people, most of them teenagers from Danwon High School in Ansan, Gyeonggi Province.

Prosecutors primarily blamed the disaster on corrupt maritime officials. Authorities said they consistently condoned safety violations and received financial kickbacks.

By Jeong Hunny ()