By Nam Hyun-woo ANSAN — Seventy Danwon High School students who were rescued from the Sewol offered their condolences at a joint altar in Ansan Hwarang Park, Wednesday. The altar commemorates friends and teachers who didn’t make it out of the sinking ferry. They made the trip after being discharged from a hospital where they were treated for physical and mental injuries sustained during their escape from the April 16 disaster. Four remained hospitalized. More than 320 students were on board the ill-fated vessel going on a field trip to Jeju Island. Seventy-nine students and eight teachers were still missing, Wednesday, while 75 had been rescued. The students and their parents arrived in six buses. Volunteer workers and civic group members prevented reporters and cameramen from interviewing them or taking photographs. Clad in white shirts and navy trousers or skirts — the students held hands with their parents and gazed at the photos of the 157 students and four teachers placed there. Many of them shed tears. Some seemed to be dazed at the overwhelming number of victims, mostly their friends. Some male students tried to hide their tears, while some girls lowered their heads and cried openly. Citizens queuing in long lines silently waited and wiped away tears until they finished saying farewell to their peers. After the short visit, the group boarded the buses and headed to a center for psychotherapy. Since their rescue, they have been treated at Korea University Ansan Hospital. They left there in the morning and headed directly to the altar. “Seventy out of 74 students treated here left this morning because their conditions were improved,” said Cha Sang-hoon, the hospital’s president. “Doctors believe that resuming their daily routines will be more helpful for them than staying in hospital. They will be treated as outpatients.” Fifteen days have passed since the accident, but the grief of the victims’ families remains the same. In small tents set up outside the altar for bereaved families, mothers of the victims seemed exhausted. “What should I do to revive our children,” a mother shrieked. “Those young children have perished because of bad adults.” As of 4 p.m. Wednesday, 32,397 had visited the altar. More than 180,000 people visited a temporary memorial altar which was in place until Monday. Meanwhile, officials reminded people to dress appropriately when visiting the altar. “There are some citizens visiting here while heading to or returning from outings in the spring weather,” one official said. “We understand their will to express sorrow, but wearing appropriate outfits is desired. |
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Friday, May 2, 2014
70 surviving students visit friends' altar
Yoo's father defies summons
Yoo's father defies summons
By Nam Hyun-woo Yoo Hyeok-gi, CEO of Moonjin Media, didn’t comply with prosecutors’ summons Friday. Yoo is the second son of Yoo Byung-eun, the former chairman of the now-defunct Semo Group, who is suspected of controlling Cheonghaejin Marine, operator of the sunken Sewol ferry. The junior Yoo can explain the complicated relationship between his father and the ferry operator and its affiliates, which is necessary to exact damages from the disaster that killed 226 passengers with 76 still missing. The former Semo chairman doesn’t hold any official titles, but investigators believe that he is enriched by dubious methods such as sales of his photographs at exorbitant prices. Yoo has an elder son, Dae-gyun, in addition to Hyeok-gi. Hyeok-gi is one of the biggest shareholders of dozens of companies under the Yoo family’s control. A special investigation team at the Incheon District Prosecutors’ Office already summoned Hyeok-gi on April 29. The team ordered him to appear again by Friday. He is reportedly in the U.S. and will not return to Korea until he hires a lawyer. It has raided offices of affiliates with the group, suspecting their heads have colluded in the family’s corruption. The team sought arrest warrants against Song Gook-bin, CEO of Dapand, a food supplements and cosmetics distributer, which is suspected of acting as the Yoo family’s cash pot. The prosecution suspects that Song ordered Dapanda workers to destroy evidence. Also on the team’s radar is Kukje Production, a commercial producer. After Semo went bankrupt in 1997, the senior Yoo lost his status as a shareholder from all affiliates. Actress Jeon Yang-ja is also being investigated. She has been known as a believer in the “Salvation sect,” the evangelical Baptist church created by Yoo and his father-in-law, the late Pastor Kwon Shin-chan. It was ousted from the Christian denomination for being heretic. Chonghaejin Marine President Kim Han-sik also served as an auditor of Kukje. Kim was questioned as a suspect at the prosecution for allegedly helping Yoo hide money by creating shell companies. The prosecution banned Jeon from leaving the country and reportedly plans to summon her in the near future over her relationship with Semo. |
[Ferry Disaster] Death toll rises to 226 in April ferry disaster
Five more bodies were recovered from a sunken ferry on Friday amid concerns that swift currents will hamper search operations and may have swept many bodies far away from the sinking site.
Since the ferry Sewol carrying 476 people capsized off South Korea's southwestern island of Jindo on April 16, a total of 226 people have been confirmed dead, mostly high school students on a field trip to the southern resort island of Jeju.
With 76 people still remaining missing, concerns have grown that the bodies of possible victims could be lost. Fueling such fears was the recovery of a body earlier in the day from waters about 4 kilometers from the accident site. Two days ago, one body was spotted some 2 kilometers away.
A total of 174 people, including most of its crew members, were rescued from the ill-fated boat on the day of the tragedy, but no one has been found alive since.
On Friday, Navy, Coast Guard and civilian divers were to focus their efforts on the left and central side of the fourth and fifth floors of the five-deck vessel, where the rescue workers have not explored much as the 6,825-ton capsized with the left side touching the bottom, according to a state response task force.
The shipwreck site has been affected by spring tides that bring strong currents, a source of concern that divers will not be able to pick up the pace in their operations.
Spring tides refer to tides in which the difference between high and low tide is the greatest. Currents are stronger by about 40 percent during spring tides compared with a period of neap tides when the difference is the least. (Yonhap)
Since the ferry Sewol carrying 476 people capsized off South Korea's southwestern island of Jindo on April 16, a total of 226 people have been confirmed dead, mostly high school students on a field trip to the southern resort island of Jeju.
With 76 people still remaining missing, concerns have grown that the bodies of possible victims could be lost. Fueling such fears was the recovery of a body earlier in the day from waters about 4 kilometers from the accident site. Two days ago, one body was spotted some 2 kilometers away.
A total of 174 people, including most of its crew members, were rescued from the ill-fated boat on the day of the tragedy, but no one has been found alive since.
On Friday, Navy, Coast Guard and civilian divers were to focus their efforts on the left and central side of the fourth and fifth floors of the five-deck vessel, where the rescue workers have not explored much as the 6,825-ton capsized with the left side touching the bottom, according to a state response task force.
The shipwreck site has been affected by spring tides that bring strong currents, a source of concern that divers will not be able to pick up the pace in their operations.
Spring tides refer to tides in which the difference between high and low tide is the greatest. Currents are stronger by about 40 percent during spring tides compared with a period of neap tides when the difference is the least. (Yonhap)
Sunday, April 27, 2014
[Ferry Disaster] Ansan after Sewol: ‘Our children are trying to get back to school’
ANSAN, Gyeonggi Province ― Tears, sighs and quiet loomed over the city of Ansan after last week’s Sewol tragedy left more than 300 passengers dead or missing ― most of them second-year students from Ansan’s Danwon High School.
Mourners in black laid white chrysanthemums at the altar set up inside the Ansan Olympic Memorial Museum, where photographs of the deceased students and teachers surrounded by flowers are placed. Several visitors sobbed as they read the numerous Post-it notes that covered the walls, wishing for the safe return of those still missing.
Outside, some of the mourners, tears streaming down their faces, were being comforted by volunteers inside tents set up by relief groups. More than 55,000 had paid their last respects at the Ansan Olympic Memorial Museum as of Friday afternoon.
“Just … come back,” wrote one visitor on a note.
“I’ve lived here for 35 years, and I’ve never seen the town this dark,” said Lee Hyoun-woo, a local historian working at the Ansan Cultural Center.
Residents voluntarily suspended all events that would evoke the slightest feelings of joy or laughter.
“To give you an idea, the adults taking the accordion, guitar and folk song classes at the (Ansan) cultural center have either canceled their lessons altogether or postponed them indefinitely,” Lee said.
Scheduled festivals in the city are also being dropped. The fifth annual Ansan Valley Rock Festival was canceled while Buddhists canceled ceremonies celebrating Buddha’s birthday on May 6.
Businesses, both large and small, reported a drop in sales.
“Last Friday, the streets were very quiet. I’d say maybe 70 percent of my hotteok went unsold,” said a woman surnamed Kim, who sells syrup-filled pancakes at a streetside stall in front of Jungang in downtown Ansan.
“The city is really quiet,” said Kim Yong-wha, an Ansan resident of 20 years and a salesman at the downtown Kia Motors dealership. “I’d say we’ve lost maybe 20 to 30 percent of our customers (since the accident).”
The town with a population of 762,000 has lost 248 students, either dead or missing, in the Sewol ferry disaster, according to the Gyeonggi Provincial Office of Education.
Many on the street seemed to have connections to the accident.
“I don’t know anyone personally who’s been affected by the accident, but I think three of my friends’ friends had lost a son or a daughter in the disaster,” said Kim.
Sun Jae-cheon, an employee working at the local Samsung Electronics retail shop, said, “A friend working across town had a younger brother who died.”
“We had about five or six students from Danwon who were killed,” said Ka Min-seok, an assistant manager at the admissions office of the Korea Hotel & Tourism Technical College, a private institution offering classes to high school students who wish to earn college credits.
Ansan is a close-knit city because entire communities immigrated together to find work in the neighboring Banwol and Sihwa industrial complexes during the 1970s and 1980s, according to local historian Lee.
The factories at Banwol and Sihwa now employ over 216,000 local residents, producing a gross output of more than 60 trillion won ($57.8 billion).
“About 120 households from the Honam area (southwestern Korea) were the first modern-day settlers to come to Ansan after mass floods hit the Seomjin River (in the Honam area).” They were the first to settle in the Gojan district, where the Danwon High School is located, in the 1960s.
New jobs eventually attracted thousands of outsiders. From 1986 to 2013, the population increased by approximately 500 percent, from 127,000 to 762,000, according to Ansan City Hall. Less than 5 percent of current residents were born in Ansan.
“Ansan has been historically a safe and serene region that attracted a lot of people from all over Korea in the past 30 to 40 years,” Lee explained.
And that is why the recent tragedy was “the worst ever.”
“We’ve never had any major floods, natural disasters, heavy rains, blizzards, not even plagues.”
Overcoming crisis
Thirty-four NGOs in the Ansan area united to form an association that now hosts nightly candlelight vigils in a municipal park downtown.
On Wednesday night, 94 Ansan citizens and five local Buddhist monks conducted a 50-bow ceremony to offer tribute to the dead as hundreds of supporters gathered and held candles. The host for the night’s vigil, Jang Ok-joo from the Korean Federation of Environmental Movements, told the crowd that the citizens of Ansan had joined in “solidarity” to express sorrow and remorse for the students’ deaths.
“We will not forget,” said Jang.
On Thursday morning, 480 of the 505 third-year students at Danwon High School returned to school for the first time since the accident, as cameramen and reporters surrounded the school entrance. School officials guarding the gates yelled at some of the cameramen.
“Please, step back, sir. Our children are trying to get back to school.”
Mourners in black laid white chrysanthemums at the altar set up inside the Ansan Olympic Memorial Museum, where photographs of the deceased students and teachers surrounded by flowers are placed. Several visitors sobbed as they read the numerous Post-it notes that covered the walls, wishing for the safe return of those still missing.
Outside, some of the mourners, tears streaming down their faces, were being comforted by volunteers inside tents set up by relief groups. More than 55,000 had paid their last respects at the Ansan Olympic Memorial Museum as of Friday afternoon.
“Just … come back,” wrote one visitor on a note.
“I’ve lived here for 35 years, and I’ve never seen the town this dark,” said Lee Hyoun-woo, a local historian working at the Ansan Cultural Center.
Residents voluntarily suspended all events that would evoke the slightest feelings of joy or laughter.
“To give you an idea, the adults taking the accordion, guitar and folk song classes at the (Ansan) cultural center have either canceled their lessons altogether or postponed them indefinitely,” Lee said.
Scheduled festivals in the city are also being dropped. The fifth annual Ansan Valley Rock Festival was canceled while Buddhists canceled ceremonies celebrating Buddha’s birthday on May 6.
Businesses, both large and small, reported a drop in sales.
“Last Friday, the streets were very quiet. I’d say maybe 70 percent of my hotteok went unsold,” said a woman surnamed Kim, who sells syrup-filled pancakes at a streetside stall in front of Jungang in downtown Ansan.
“The city is really quiet,” said Kim Yong-wha, an Ansan resident of 20 years and a salesman at the downtown Kia Motors dealership. “I’d say we’ve lost maybe 20 to 30 percent of our customers (since the accident).”
The town with a population of 762,000 has lost 248 students, either dead or missing, in the Sewol ferry disaster, according to the Gyeonggi Provincial Office of Education.
Many on the street seemed to have connections to the accident.
“I don’t know anyone personally who’s been affected by the accident, but I think three of my friends’ friends had lost a son or a daughter in the disaster,” said Kim.
Sun Jae-cheon, an employee working at the local Samsung Electronics retail shop, said, “A friend working across town had a younger brother who died.”
“We had about five or six students from Danwon who were killed,” said Ka Min-seok, an assistant manager at the admissions office of the Korea Hotel & Tourism Technical College, a private institution offering classes to high school students who wish to earn college credits.
Ansan is a close-knit city because entire communities immigrated together to find work in the neighboring Banwol and Sihwa industrial complexes during the 1970s and 1980s, according to local historian Lee.
The factories at Banwol and Sihwa now employ over 216,000 local residents, producing a gross output of more than 60 trillion won ($57.8 billion).
“About 120 households from the Honam area (southwestern Korea) were the first modern-day settlers to come to Ansan after mass floods hit the Seomjin River (in the Honam area).” They were the first to settle in the Gojan district, where the Danwon High School is located, in the 1960s.
New jobs eventually attracted thousands of outsiders. From 1986 to 2013, the population increased by approximately 500 percent, from 127,000 to 762,000, according to Ansan City Hall. Less than 5 percent of current residents were born in Ansan.
“Ansan has been historically a safe and serene region that attracted a lot of people from all over Korea in the past 30 to 40 years,” Lee explained.
And that is why the recent tragedy was “the worst ever.”
“We’ve never had any major floods, natural disasters, heavy rains, blizzards, not even plagues.”
Overcoming crisis
Thirty-four NGOs in the Ansan area united to form an association that now hosts nightly candlelight vigils in a municipal park downtown.
On Wednesday night, 94 Ansan citizens and five local Buddhist monks conducted a 50-bow ceremony to offer tribute to the dead as hundreds of supporters gathered and held candles. The host for the night’s vigil, Jang Ok-joo from the Korean Federation of Environmental Movements, told the crowd that the citizens of Ansan had joined in “solidarity” to express sorrow and remorse for the students’ deaths.
“We will not forget,” said Jang.
On Thursday morning, 480 of the 505 third-year students at Danwon High School returned to school for the first time since the accident, as cameramen and reporters surrounded the school entrance. School officials guarding the gates yelled at some of the cameramen.
“Please, step back, sir. Our children are trying to get back to school.”
[Ferry Disaster] Tragedy brings Korea to a standstill Nation grapples with questions over lack of safety precautions and control tower following sinking of Sewol
Government offices remained closed on Friday except to conduct search operations and support the Sewol victims and their families.
Private companies have also temporary held off or scaled down both internal and external events as the country mourns the latest tragedy, which has brought Korea to a standstill.
As the death toll ― mostly teenagers ― from the devastating accident continues to increase, the public outcry and criticism of the government’s lack of regulatory oversight and poor crisis management is also on the rise.
The public’s hostility and blame has not only spread to government agencies such as the Ministry of Security and Public Administration and the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries, but also to the alleged culprits of the accident ― the owner of ferry company Chonghaejin Marine Co., the Yoo family.
The two ministries are key government agencies with the former in charge of national security and the latter of marine regulatory policy. The Security Ministry, as critics noted, seemed unprepared for the crisis. On the other hand, the functions and operations of the Oceans Ministry, its affiliated enterprises and regulatory units have been compared to the mafia.
Investigations into the matter have now expanded to the Yoo family and their Christian cult, Salvation Sect, seeking to find if their religious activities had anything to do with the deaths of hundreds of ferry passengers.
The cult’s business connection to the Sewol accident is reminiscent of a 1987 unsolved mass suicide case that also involved the sect, loan sharks and Yoo Byung-eon, who was the group’s pastor at the time, as one of the prime suspects.
In light of these latest revelations, questions are cautiously being raised as to how the country can recover and get back to normal economically when public and private organizations seem to want to keep a low profile to avoid public criticism.
“The mood is not so good at the moment, and we’re very careful of being a target of blame,” a spokesman for a local bank said.
Public agencies and their officials are also keeping their heads down in the aftermath of one of the country’s worst maritime disasters.
Finance Minister Hyun Oh-seok canceled a meeting with economy-related ministries slated for Wednesday to instead discuss support plans for the ferry disaster survivors and victims’ families.
Bank of Korea Gov. Lee Ju-yeol also canceled Wednesday’s economic review meeting at which he was to exchange a range of views concerning recent economic developments with heads of financial institutions and scholars.
The Finance Ministry and the BOK said the cancellations reflected the social atmosphere of collective mourning since the disaster.
Many companies, from automakers to banks, have also canceled social business events slated for this week.
Local festivals, school trips and ferry tours have been canceled or delayed, bringing the tourism industry to a grinding halt.
Tour companies in Seoul have seen more than half of their group tour reservations canceled as of April 18, according to the Korea Tourism Association. Reports said more than 7,000 airline tickets were canceled after the Education Ministry banned school trips for the first half of the year.
Major retailers’ sales continue to decline in the aftermath of the Sewol accident as consumers’ shopping has dropped off and retailers have avoided marketing activities.
CJ O Shopping said Wednesday its sales fell 20 percent Saturday and Sunday from a week ago and another 5 percent Monday. Sales of E-mart and other big-box stores are also dropping slightly after the ferry accident.
A major hotel in central Seoul said at least seven business conferences were canceled this week and it received a large number of room cancellations.
Critics remained cautious in predicting the accident’s impact on the country. Others worried about the impact these developments are having on the domestic economy.
“Many companies are putting their business on hold. It is not a good sign. The slowdown in business operations may result in a temporary economic slowdown,” a market analyst said.
Domestic consumption has also been hit, with credit card usage falling as much as 8 percent in the five days following the sinking of the Sewol.
By Oh Kyu-wook and Park Hyong-ki
(596story@heraldcorp.com) (hkp@heraldcorp.com)
Private companies have also temporary held off or scaled down both internal and external events as the country mourns the latest tragedy, which has brought Korea to a standstill.
As the death toll ― mostly teenagers ― from the devastating accident continues to increase, the public outcry and criticism of the government’s lack of regulatory oversight and poor crisis management is also on the rise.
The public’s hostility and blame has not only spread to government agencies such as the Ministry of Security and Public Administration and the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries, but also to the alleged culprits of the accident ― the owner of ferry company Chonghaejin Marine Co., the Yoo family.
The two ministries are key government agencies with the former in charge of national security and the latter of marine regulatory policy. The Security Ministry, as critics noted, seemed unprepared for the crisis. On the other hand, the functions and operations of the Oceans Ministry, its affiliated enterprises and regulatory units have been compared to the mafia.
 |
| Oceans and Fisheries Minister Lee Ju-young (left) and Coast Guard chief Kim Seok-kyun (second from left) meet with family members of the sunken ferry Sewol’s missing passengers at a port on Jindo Island, South Jeolla Province, Thursday. (Yonhap) |
Investigations into the matter have now expanded to the Yoo family and their Christian cult, Salvation Sect, seeking to find if their religious activities had anything to do with the deaths of hundreds of ferry passengers.
The cult’s business connection to the Sewol accident is reminiscent of a 1987 unsolved mass suicide case that also involved the sect, loan sharks and Yoo Byung-eon, who was the group’s pastor at the time, as one of the prime suspects.
In light of these latest revelations, questions are cautiously being raised as to how the country can recover and get back to normal economically when public and private organizations seem to want to keep a low profile to avoid public criticism.
“The mood is not so good at the moment, and we’re very careful of being a target of blame,” a spokesman for a local bank said.
Public agencies and their officials are also keeping their heads down in the aftermath of one of the country’s worst maritime disasters.
Finance Minister Hyun Oh-seok canceled a meeting with economy-related ministries slated for Wednesday to instead discuss support plans for the ferry disaster survivors and victims’ families.
Bank of Korea Gov. Lee Ju-yeol also canceled Wednesday’s economic review meeting at which he was to exchange a range of views concerning recent economic developments with heads of financial institutions and scholars.
The Finance Ministry and the BOK said the cancellations reflected the social atmosphere of collective mourning since the disaster.
Many companies, from automakers to banks, have also canceled social business events slated for this week.
Local festivals, school trips and ferry tours have been canceled or delayed, bringing the tourism industry to a grinding halt.
Tour companies in Seoul have seen more than half of their group tour reservations canceled as of April 18, according to the Korea Tourism Association. Reports said more than 7,000 airline tickets were canceled after the Education Ministry banned school trips for the first half of the year.
Major retailers’ sales continue to decline in the aftermath of the Sewol accident as consumers’ shopping has dropped off and retailers have avoided marketing activities.
CJ O Shopping said Wednesday its sales fell 20 percent Saturday and Sunday from a week ago and another 5 percent Monday. Sales of E-mart and other big-box stores are also dropping slightly after the ferry accident.
A major hotel in central Seoul said at least seven business conferences were canceled this week and it received a large number of room cancellations.
Critics remained cautious in predicting the accident’s impact on the country. Others worried about the impact these developments are having on the domestic economy.
“Many companies are putting their business on hold. It is not a good sign. The slowdown in business operations may result in a temporary economic slowdown,” a market analyst said.
Domestic consumption has also been hit, with credit card usage falling as much as 8 percent in the five days following the sinking of the Sewol.
By Oh Kyu-wook and Park Hyong-ki
(596story@heraldcorp.com) (hkp@heraldcorp.com)
Search resumes for missing students of sunken ferry amid bad weather
South Korean coast guard personnel and divers resumed their search Sunday to find the missing from a capsized ferry, with murky water and strong currents hampering their efforts.
After temporarily halting the operation for nearly 11 hours due to strong winds, the Coast Guard, Navy and civilian divers resumed their search of the submerged ferry Sewol to retrieve bodies from cabins on the third and fourth decks, where most of the missing are believed to have been trapped, Coast Guard officials said.
After temporarily halting the operation for nearly 11 hours due to strong winds, the Coast Guard, Navy and civilian divers resumed their search of the submerged ferry Sewol to retrieve bodies from cabins on the third and fourth decks, where most of the missing are believed to have been trapped, Coast Guard officials said.
 |
| (Yonhap) |
Eleven days after the deadly sinking of the 6,825-ton ferry in southwestern waters, 187 of the 476 passengers aboard, most of whom were high school students on a field trip, have been confirmed dead and 115 others were still unaccounted for as of Sunday afternoon, they said.
The divers' search has been restricted by strong currents and limited visibility.
"Carpets, blankets, and furniture from different parts of the ship fill up passages and cabins, making it difficult for divers to enter," Kim Suk-kyoon, the chief of the Coast Guard, said. He said the divers have not yet been able to work around the obstacles.
No bodies have been retrieved since early Saturday when divers found two more victims. Not a single survivor has so far been found among those missing.
Prosecutors said Sunday that they are looking into paper companies allegedly set up by the owner family of the operator of the ill-fated Sewol as part of their widening investigation into the cause of the deadly accident.
The prosecution suspects that Chonghaejin Marine Co., the ferry's operator, and Yoo Byung-eun, a billionaire whose family controls the firm, set up three paper companies to create slush funds. They said the ship was found to have been poorly inspected.
"We've found at least three companies thought to be bogus firms, which are suspected of raising funds from affiliates under the pretense of consulting costs," an investigator said.
Meanwhile, a joint team of prosecutors and police officers have referred Sewol's disgraced captain Lee Joon-seok and two other crew members to the prosecution for further investigation on charges of neglecting their duties and abandoning the passengers.
All of the 15 crew members in charge of navigating the ship have been put behind bars, accused of failing to evacuate passengers from the sinking ship and not making efforts to save the passengers.
Thousands of people visited a memorial altar set up at a gym in Ansan, a city just outside Seoul, on Sunday to pay their respects to the more than 110 students and teachers confirmed dead.
Officials said more than 130,000 people have visited the altar over the past five days. (Yonhap)
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