Korean ferry sinks, 304 Dead, mostly high school students

[Jacob]

I was just in Seoul. My hotel overlooked Seoul city hall... there's a big memorial to the victims. I also saw a big protest of angry Koreans, and hundreds and hundreds of cops watching over them in case things got out of hand.

It was pretty intense.

A terrible tragedy

[jimmy olsen]

Suicide? 

http://edition.cnn.com/2014/07/21/world/asia/south-korea-ferry/

Korean police: Body of key figure in deadly ferry case found
 

By Steve Almasy and Judy Kwon, CNN

July 22, 2014 -- Updated 0226 GMT (1026 HKT)

(CNN) -- DNA taken from a body found in June matches that of fugitive billionaire Yoo Byung-eun, police in South Korea said Tuesday.

Yoo went missing after a ferry sank in April, killing 292 people aboard, including hundreds of high school students.

Through an investment vehicle and subsidiary, Yoo, 73, and his two sons were believed to have controlled the shipping company that operated the ferry, according to the semi-official Yonhap news agency. In late April, Yoo's representatives sent a statement denying that he had any direct or indirect connection to Chonghaejin Marine Company.

Yoo was wanted for questioning in connection with an investigation into alleged funds embezzlement, tax evasion and other irregularities that prosecutors say could have contributed to the sinking on April 16.

The chief of police in Suncheon, Yoo Hyung-ho, told reporters that the body was 80% decomposed when an autopsy was started June 13, a day after the body was found. Yonhap said the body was found in a plum field in the city of Suncheon, about 300 kilometers (186 miles) south of Seoul.

He said authorities were able to match DNA from the body to the billionaire and also used a fingerprint from the right index finger.

The police chief added that a few empty alcohol bottles were also found with the body. The cause of the death remains under investigation.

Yoo was known as the "millionaire without a face" because of his reluctance to appear in public. Yoo had four sons and daughters; the whereabouts of three of the four are unknown.

[jimmy olsen]

Some new info I just became aware of. Odd, seems like some kind of electrical problem or computer glitch. Strange that it hasn't been mentioned before.

english.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2014/04/22/2014042200600.html

Sewol Experienced Brief Blackout Before Capsizing

New evidence suggests that a power blackout may have caused the ferry Sewol to capsize and sink off the southwest coast last Wednesday.

The Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries on Monday analyzed the automatic identification system aboard the ferry and confirmed that it experienced a 36-second blackout just before it sank. The cause remains unknown.

A ministry official said, "We need to investigate to determine why the ship veered sharply to the right after the blackout."

The ferry's third mate, Park Han-gyeol (26), who was navigating the Sewol at the time of the accident, told police she asked the helmsman to steer the vessel only five degrees to the right. The helmsman told police he followed Park's instructions, but the ship veered far more sharply.

Park, who was among the first to be rescued while hundreds of passengers remained trapped on board, has been arrested.

[Martinus]

How did they go from "2 dead, 107 missing" to "302 dead"? 

[Admiral Yi]

My hotel overlooked Seoul city hall

The Plaza?  Pretty souless, no?  Or the Chosun?  Much more character.

I grew up not too far from there, behind Duksoo Palace.

[The Brain]

My hotel overlooked Seoul city hall

The Plaza?  Pretty souless, no?  Or the Chosun?  Much more character.

I grew up not too far from there, behind Duksoo Palace.

[The Brain]

How did they go from "2 dead, 107 missing" to "302 dead"? 

Will you be missed, Mart?

[Jacob]

The Plaza?  Pretty souless, no?  Or the Chosun?  Much more character.

I grew up not too far from there, behind Duksoo Palace.

The President, actually. It had a bit of character, but not tons: http://www.hotelpresident.co.kr/

The area must have changed tons since you were growing up there?

[jimmy olsen]

It was a somber anniversary here in Korea.

The government has pledged to raise the ship, but no one trusts the governments or thinks the country is any safer today than it was a year ago.

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/apr/16/grief-anger-first-anniversary-south-korea-sewol-ferry-disaster

South Korean president's vow to raise Sewol fails to appease angry relatives

Families of 304 people killed in ferry disaster boycott anniversary event to push for independent inquiry as prime minister is blocked from Ansan memorial site


Staff and agencies

Thursday 16 April 2015 09.50 BST  Last modified on Friday 17 April 2015 10.51 BST 

South Korea's president has vowed to raise the Sewol , bowing to a key demand from victims' relatives as they marked the first anniversary of the ferry disaster in which 304 people died – most of them schoolchildren.

"I will take the necessary steps to salvage the ship at the earliest possible date," Park Geun-hye said on Thursday during a brief visit to the southern island of Jindo – the closest landfall to the site where the vessel sank on 16 April 2014.

The announcement to raise the 6,825-tonne vessel – at an estimated cost of between £64m ($91m) and £92m – failed to appease victims' families, who boycotted an anniversary event to push their separate demand for a fully independent inquiry into the tragedy.

The depth of anger remains considerable a year after the passenger ferry sank.

While largely blamed on the ship's illegal redesign and overloading, the accident also exposed deeper-rooted problems of corruption, lax safety standards and regulatory failings in South Korea.

The overloaded ferry was carrying 476 people, including 325 students from the high school in Ansan, when it sank. Only 75 students survived. A total of 295 bodies were recovered from the ferry, but nine remained unaccounted for when divers finally called off the often treacherous search in November.

The end of the search came as the captain who abandoned the ferry as it capsized was sentenced to 36 years in prison for gross negligence. The head of the ferry operator was later jailed for 10 years.

Raising the Sewol could take up to 18 months.

f Ansan, a city south of Seoul where the majority of those who died were from, was the focus of Thursday's remembrance activities.

Flags flew at half mast and yellow ribbons fluttered from trees and lamp posts across the city, where sirens blared at 10:00am local time (and residents bowed their heads for a minute's silence and prayer.


Despite torrential rain, thousands of mourners passed through a memorial hall containing hundreds of black-ribboned, flower-ringed portraits of the dead students from Danwon high school.

Parents and other relatives sobbed and beat their chests as they left messages, stuffing animals and favoured snacks under the photos.

"My son, I hope you're happy up there. Mom misses you so much," one message read.

A giant screen showed a slideshow of family pictures below a large banner that read: "We're sorry. We love you. We won't forget."

Uniformed students from the school were among those who paid their respects.

A formal memorial event had been scheduled for the afternoon in Ansan, but the victims' families cancelled it, despite Park's agreement to salvage the ferry.

Yoo Kyung-geun, a spokesman for the families, said there was anger that the president had not given assurances regarding an independent inquiry, adding: "I'm afraid her words were just meaningless."

Public opinion has been largely supportive of the families, although some conservative groups say leftwing organisations have hijacked the cause in an effort to embarrass the government.

The families of those still missing had spearheaded the calls for the ferry to be raised.


"My heart still aches when I think of the nine people who are still under the cold water, and of their families," Park said in Jindo.

The president had intended to pay her respects at a special altar erected at the island's harbour, but angry relatives had put up a barrier to block her access.

The prime minister, Lee Wan-koo, was turned away at the entrance to the remembrance hall by victims' families.

There is widespread frustration among many South Koreans who see their government as having failed to improve safety standards and hold senior officials accountable for a disaster blamed in part on incompetence and corruption.

"Nothing has changed," the JoongAng daily said in an editorial on Thursday. Chosun Ilbo, which has the largest circulation, concluded that "the country remains unsafe".

Large crowds were expected to turn out later on Thursday for an evening candlelight vigil in central Seoul.

[Monoriu]

I understand the government resistance to an independent inquiry, although I think such resistance is counterproductive.  What I don't understand is the seeming resistance to raise the ship.  Unless there are genuine and insurmountable technical reasons, otherwise there seem no reason not to raise it. 

Hong Kong also had a marine disaster in which close to 40 people died.  There was an independent inquiry and it exposed that our ship inspection programme was pretty much non-existant.  It was so bad that there are going to be charges against senior civil servants for gross negligence.

[Jaron]

Lord have mercy!

What a tragedy.

[jimmy olsen]

Five years on this tragedy still lays heavy on the nation's conscience. I saw so many protests over the years I worked near government center.

http://m.koreatimes.co.kr/pages/article.asp?newsIdx=267186

[alfred russel]

Five years on this tragedy still lays heavy on the nation's conscience. I saw so many protests over the years I worked near government center.

http://m.koreatimes.co.kr/pages/article.asp?newsIdx=267186

What were they saying?

[jimmy olsen]

Five years on this tragedy still lays heavy on the nation's conscience. I saw so many protests over the years I worked near government center.

http://m.koreatimes.co.kr/pages/article.asp?newsIdx=267186

What were they saying?

A lot were protesting former president Park's handling of the disaster. Others were demanding an independent investigation.  Others more stringent enforcement of safety regulations.