April 16, 2021 is the 7th anniversary of the shipwreck of the South Korean "Sewol" shipwreck. On the Central Lawn Square of the Education Department of Incheon, South Korea, there are wreaths and yellow ribbons used by residents to mourn 304 victims.
Although it has been 7 years since the incident, many Koreans are still scared when they mention this matter.
As the survivor of the Sewol shipwreck, many of the parties involved are still in the shadows and have to rely on sleeping pills to relieve the pain. So, what was the Sevy shipwreck like?
On the morning of April 16, 2014, a Korean passenger ship " Sewo " full of 476 people sank about 3 kilometers southwest of Guanmei Island, Jindao-gun, South Korea. Of the 476 passengers on the ship, 296 were unfortunately killed, 8 were missing (later proved dead), and a total of 304 were killed.
This accident killed a total of 304 people, most of whom were Korean high school students. The shipwreck was the worst shipwreck in South Korea since its founding in 1947, causing an uproar in the world. In addition to the then president Park Geun-hye being questioned by the public, several officials were prosecuted, and the captain of the Sewol, Lee Jun-suk, was sentenced to life imprisonment on the charge of homicide.
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On April 16, 2014, this South Korean Sewol passenger ship loaded with 476 people from the port. Its destination is the famous tourist attraction in South Korea, Jeju Island . More than 200 of the passengers on the boat were high school students, full of laughter and joy along the way, looking forward to arriving at the coveted Jeju Island early.
Sewol passenger ship was originally a 6825-ton luxury passenger ship. It has gone to sea many times before, and the captain Lee Jun-suk also has rich sailing experience. However, the passengers on the boat probably never thought that this trip would become their desperate journey.
At around 8:58 am, the Sewol suddenly had a hull tilt and partially immersed, and completely sank within the next hour. The huge hull of the Sewol is like a helpless lonely boat in the vast sea, allowing the sea water to flow back into the cabin. At this critical moment, Captain Lee Junshi and others not only did not calmly command everyone to escape, but abandoned the ship and fled, leaving hundreds of passengers on the ship at a loss and stunned.
Captain Lee Jun-seok and others wore their life jackets and jumped into the sea to escape, and later became one of the few survivors.
The passengers who stayed on the boat were frightened and could only stay in their rooms and hope that the miracle would happen. In fact, when the passenger ship was initially immersed in water, the situation was not particularly serious and had sufficient escape opportunities. However, Captain Lee Jun-suk informed all passengers through the radio: Don’t act rashly, stay in the room and don’t run around!
It is precisely because of this sentence that most passengers stay honestly in their room before the ship sank. There are more than 200 people on the boat, all of whom are high school students, who lack experience in self-rescue and do not know how to ask for help. Before the ship sank, some students also turned on their phones to talk to their parents or start video chatting to reduce their fear. After
9 o'clock, a Korean high school student named Jin Dexia called the rescue center. Shortly after the phone dialed, the student reported the Sewol status to the rescue center. However, most passengers, including this student, had already sunk before they could come to the rescue center to rescue.
This luxurious passenger ship full of 476 people sank into the sea without waiting for any rescue, and like its name, it stayed in the years forever (the Korean name of the "Sewol" is called " Years Issue ").
There are both students and teachers, as well as ordinary white-collar workers and technical workers on the ship. The female teacher Chu Yuan was the first time she started working and accompanied the students to sea for the first time...
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are facing such a serious shipwreck accident. In addition, the South Korean president at that time was Park Geun-hye, who was famous for her "simplified and capable", but the attitude of the South Korean government in handling this matter is incredible.
At the time of the accident, South Korean President Park Geun-hye was not at the office, and there was no definite statement about her whereabouts.
(In 2017, the Shanghai Salvation Bureau of China salvaged the hull of the Sewol to the semi-submersible ship and handed it to the South Korean government)
The first point is questionable that the Korean rescue center is not effective in rescue. Half an hour after the passenger ship sank into the sea, the South Korean rescue center sent a rescue helicopter to the accident site. After the passenger ship sank, some survivors in life jackets were floating on the sea. The rescue staff did not participate in the rescue as soon as possible. Instead, they blocked the photos of the scene, blocking the accident scene and preventing the spread of public opinion.
It was not until the third year after the accident, that is, in March 2017 that the hull of the Sewol shipwreck was salvaged. It was not the local shipping company in South Korea, but the Shanghai Salvage Bureau from China. After South Korea officially obtained the hull of the Sewol shipwreck, it immediately collected surveillance information on the ship. Later, in some of the ship surveillance data officially released by South Korea, there seemed to be obvious traces of modification and forgery.
The second point of the public reason for the sinking of the "Sewol" is also doubtful. "Sewol" passenger ship overturned during normal voyage, causing the ship to enter water and even eventually sink into the sea. The captain of the Sewol, Lee Jun-suk, was sentenced to life imprisonment by the South Korean court. According to him, the reason for the Sewol was that the ship was operating a sharp turn while driving, causing the hull to lose its center of gravity and overturn.
Due to the large number of victims, demonstrations broke out in South Korea. However, the police have successively arrested the families of the victims who rushed to the court.
Third point, the South Korean government’s “suspected” sheltering attitude towards relevant personnel. In this accident, it is obvious that the rescue of relevant departments in South Korea is ineffective. There were 476 people on the ship, only 172 were rescued, and all 304 were killed. only had the captain of the Sewol, Lee Jun-suk, who "abandoned the ship and fled", was sentenced to life imprisonment, and , the first mate Jiang, the second mate Kim, the engineer commander Park and the other crew members were sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment ranging from 415 to 30 years on the ship.
, who participated in the command of the rescue, , director of the Korean Marine Police Department, Kim Seok-jun, etc., were also prosecuted with , South Korea's Blue House, , secretary-general , Li Bingqi, and 5 people, on the grounds that "failed to take sufficient relief measures" and "suspected to obstruct investigation" . However, none of these people were held accountable in the end and were all acquitted.
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At the same time, Sewol accident also exposed the chaos in the management of shipping companies by relevant Korean departments. Such a 6825-ton luxury passenger ship not only has insufficient life-saving supplies and lack of experience in dealing with emergencies, but also after the accident, Captain Lee Jun-suk actually took the lead in escaping and ignored the lives of more than 400 people on the ship.
It is obvious that the shipping company to which Sewol belongs used some special means to bribe the South Korean shipping department and obtained the qualification for shipping. In this matter, what is even more terrifying than a shipwreck is actually man-made disaster.
The Sewol passenger ship originally belonged to the South Korean Cheonghai Town Maritime Transportation Company, and the boss behind the scenes was Yu Bingyan. After the incident, Yu Bingyan left the company and assets behind unknown whereabouts. It was not until two months after the Sewol wreck that South Korean police found a white bone of an adult male in the suburbs. After DNA comparison, it was Yu Bingyan himself.
Due to his death, the clues of investigation were also interrupted here.
Now, although the Sewol shipwreck has been 7 years since its inflict, many families of victims are still immersed in grief. Some parents of children still demanded the government to re-examination because they refused to accept the cruel facts, but received a cold response.
It is worth mentioning that Kim Dong-soo, a Korean technical worker who was one of the 172 survivors back then, bravely rescued more than 20 people after falling into the water. However, he did not have the sense of honor to be a hero who saved people. Instead, he could only rely on sleeping pills and other calming drugs to fall asleep.
Kim Dong-soo said that as soon as he closes his eyes, he will see the dead souls. Over the past few years, he quit his job and turned down all social engagements, often locking himself in the house and having to sleep on sleeping pills.
As the most painful shipwreck accident on Korean history , the experience of the Sewol is still fresh in memory. There are many survivors like Kim Dong-soo, who are still suffering from mental torture and cannot live a normal life. I hope that such a tragedy will not happen again, and I hope that the relevant Korean departments will further investigate the truth of the matter.
