Families Call for Sewol's Recovery
The families of those lost when the passenger ferry Sewol sank off South Korea have renewed their call for the vessel’s recovery, almost a year after the tragedy.
The ferry sank on April 16, 2014 killing more than 300 passengers, mostly teenagers on a school trip to the island of Jeju. Nine people remain unaccounted for.
The South Korean government has yet to commit publicly to raising the vessel, a project worth an estimated 620 billion won ($560 million).
“There are nine bodies that are waiting to be returned to their family members,” the associations of victims’ families said in a statement, reports Yonhap News.
A number of commemorative events are planned for the anniversary with family groups staging a 416-hour sit-in starting Monday at Gwanghwamun Square in Seoul. They will also conduct a two-day march commencing April 4.
On Sunday, a U.S. charity honored Danwon High School teacher Choi Hye-jeong and crew member Park Ji-young with gold medals for sacrificing their lives while trying to save others as the ferry sank. The Four Chaplains Memorial Foundation honored the memories of Choi and Park with gold medals at an award ceremony in Philadelphia.
U.S. President Harry Truman established the foundation in 1951 in honor of four chaplains who gave their life jackets to other passengers after a German submarine torpedoed their transport ship, the USAT Dorchester, during World War II. The gold medal is the highest honor of the foundation’s annual prize for selfless service to humanity.
Choi died helping to save students who were stuck in a cabin, and Park gave her lifejacket to a student and helped passengers escape. The Korea Times reports the student recalling Park's last words as: “I'll get out after I get you all out of here.”
Their sacrifice stands in contrast to Sewol’s master who left the vessel after the school children were ordered to stay in their cabins. He has been sentenced to 36 years for gross negligence. Other crew members also received terms of up to 30 years. A former South Korean Coast Guard captain was sentenced to four years in prison after being convicted of charges of neglecting his duty to safely evacuate passengers from the sinking ferry.
The South Korean government has initiated an overhaul of emergency response capabilities as a result of the tragedy, and this week it announced that the nation’s public safety minister plans will conduct on-site safety checks of major public facilities that will cover emergency response, public safety education and maritime accident prevention.