The Sewol was loaded with hundreds of tons of steel beams, some to be used in the construction of the Jeju naval base, at the time of the tragic accident, which took the lives of 304 passengers. The Special Committee for the Investigation of the Sewol Accident stated in a report on the investigation details adopted on June 27 that 410 tons of steel beams were loaded onto the Sewol and that they included those heading for the Jeju naval base. Hwang Ju-hong, administrator for the National Assembly's Agriculture, Food and Fisheries Committee announced that 426 tons of steel beams had been loaded onto the Sewol and that the final destination for 278 tons of those beams was the Jeju naval base according to information obtained from the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries.
This is very serious, for it means that the government contributed to the cause of the sinking of the ferry. There had been allegations that a bulk shipment of steel beams headed for the Jeju naval base were on the Sewol, but the Ministry of National Defense had denied such allegations. The ministry claimed that the steel beams that went to the Jeju base went from the factory to Busan, and from there to Jeju Harbor and finally the construction site. An official from the defense ministry told the press, "The task was handled by the companies building the Jeju naval base, so it is difficult to confirm related details." We need to identify whether the oceans ministry submitted false information to the National Assembly or if the defense ministry is lying despite being aware of the situation. What's more, the joint investigation team of the police and prosecutors announced last May that only 286 tons of steel beams were loaded onto the Sewol. Compared to the report by the Sewol special committee (410 tons), they managed to miss 124 tons of steel beams. This shows that the government investigation was conducted poorly, and raises suspicions that the investigators may have been covering for the government.
Experts point out that the main cause of the sinking of the ferry was excessive freight. Steel beams are heavy cargo (goods that are heavy compared to their volume), so we need to disclose how much of it was loaded onto the ship by whom and whether there was any violation of regulations in the process. If hundreds of tons of steel beams heading for the Jeju naval base was loaded on the Sewol, the government will not be able to avoid suspicions that it pressured the company to ship the cargo, since weather conditions were bad at the time. Other than that the government tried to conceal the fact, it is also difficult to explain how the weight of the steel beams and their destination was revealed only now, more than two years after the accident. Reportedly, the Sewol crew had constantly been concerned about the problem of overloading steel beams even before the accident. The government is trying to force the Sewol special committee to end its investigation by the end of this month despite various allegations as well as the fact that they have yet to salvage the hull. The National Assembly must keep the government in check and lead efforts to get to the truth of the matter by amending the special Sewol bill and by introducing a special prosecutor.
Read more: http://english.khan.co.kr/khan_art_view.html?artid=201606291823447&code=710100#csidx4019e11c5e073c1abfbb5e05e636af0
This is very serious, for it means that the government contributed to the cause of the sinking of the ferry. There had been allegations that a bulk shipment of steel beams headed for the Jeju naval base were on the Sewol, but the Ministry of National Defense had denied such allegations. The ministry claimed that the steel beams that went to the Jeju base went from the factory to Busan, and from there to Jeju Harbor and finally the construction site. An official from the defense ministry told the press, "The task was handled by the companies building the Jeju naval base, so it is difficult to confirm related details." We need to identify whether the oceans ministry submitted false information to the National Assembly or if the defense ministry is lying despite being aware of the situation. What's more, the joint investigation team of the police and prosecutors announced last May that only 286 tons of steel beams were loaded onto the Sewol. Compared to the report by the Sewol special committee (410 tons), they managed to miss 124 tons of steel beams. This shows that the government investigation was conducted poorly, and raises suspicions that the investigators may have been covering for the government.
Experts point out that the main cause of the sinking of the ferry was excessive freight. Steel beams are heavy cargo (goods that are heavy compared to their volume), so we need to disclose how much of it was loaded onto the ship by whom and whether there was any violation of regulations in the process. If hundreds of tons of steel beams heading for the Jeju naval base was loaded on the Sewol, the government will not be able to avoid suspicions that it pressured the company to ship the cargo, since weather conditions were bad at the time. Other than that the government tried to conceal the fact, it is also difficult to explain how the weight of the steel beams and their destination was revealed only now, more than two years after the accident. Reportedly, the Sewol crew had constantly been concerned about the problem of overloading steel beams even before the accident. The government is trying to force the Sewol special committee to end its investigation by the end of this month despite various allegations as well as the fact that they have yet to salvage the hull. The National Assembly must keep the government in check and lead efforts to get to the truth of the matter by amending the special Sewol bill and by introducing a special prosecutor.
Read more: http://english.khan.co.kr/khan_art_view.html?artid=201606291823447&code=710100#csidx4019e11c5e073c1abfbb5e05e636af0
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