Sewol Ferry Special Investigation Unit to Announce Investigation Results This Afternoon... Concludes 1 Year and 2 Months of Activity

Im Gwanhyeok, Head of the Sewol Ferry Disaster Special Investigation Unit. / Photo by Mun Honam munonam@

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Seok-jin] The Special Investigation Unit on the Sewol Ferry Disaster (Head: Im Gwan-hyeok, Seoul High Prosecutors' Office) will announce the final investigation results on the 19th.

The special unit is scheduled to announce the final results of the investigation, which lasted 1 year and 2 months, at 2:30 PM on the same day in the briefing room of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office in Seocho-dong, Seoul.

It is known that Im Gwan-hyeok, head of the special unit, will personally lead the announcement of the investigation results. The Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office plans to conduct the briefing with the number of people in the briefing room limited to 49, in accordance with COVID-19 quarantine guidelines prohibiting gatherings of 50 or more people in the metropolitan area.

The Sewol Ferry Special Investigation Unit, launched in November 2019, 5 years and 7 months after the Sewol Ferry disaster, has conducted investigations mainly in three areas: ▲allegations of inadequate response by the Korea Coast Guard ▲allegations of obstruction of the Sewol Ferry Disaster Special Investigation Commission's activities ▲allegations of external pressure on the investigation by the Ministry of Justice.

First, regarding the allegations of inadequate response by the Korea Coast Guard at the time of the disaster, in February last year, 11 members of the Coast Guard leadership, including former Korea Coast Guard Commissioner Kim Seok-gyun (56), were indicted without detention.

At the sentencing hearing held on the 11th, the prosecution requested a prison sentence of 5 years for former Commissioner Kim.

Regarding allegations that the Blue House and government ministries obstructed the activities of the Sewol Ferry Disaster Special Investigation Commission during the Park Geun-hye administration, in May last year, nine people including former Blue House Chief of Staff Lee Byung-gi (74), former Policy Coordination Secretary Hyeon Jeong-taek (72), and former Senior Secretary for Political Affairs Hyeon Gi-hwan (62) were indicted without detention on charges of abuse of authority and obstruction of rights.

Also, concerning allegations that the Ministry of Justice exerted external pressure on the investigation team, in June last year, the Ministry of Justice's Prosecutor's Office and the Supreme Prosecutors' Office Criminal Division were raided, securing reports and related materials.

Previously, regarding the Sewol Ferry disaster, the prosecution formed a joint investigation headquarters with the police at the Mokpo branch of the Gwangju District Prosecutors' Office, which has jurisdiction over the accident area, to investigate the causes of the Sewol Ferry disaster.

Separately, the Incheon District Prosecutors' Office investigated corruption allegations involving Cheonghaejin Marine Company, the operator of the Sewol Ferry, and the Busan District Prosecutors' Office special investigation team investigated maritime and port corruption in the Busan and Gyeongnam regions, prosecuting Sewol Ferry Captain Lee Jun-seok, crew members, executives of the shipowner company, and officials of safety supervision agencies.

However, criticism continued that responsibility and punishment for the so-called 'upper echelons' were not properly addressed, and with new allegations raised by the Social Disaster Special Investigation Commission, the prosecution, under the direction of Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol, formed the Sewol Ferry Special Investigation Unit to continue the investigation.