Gov't to respond to rescue effort criticism

By Jun Ji-hye

The government’s emergency task force center said Wednesday that it will soon make a statement regarding complaints from the public that its efforts to rescue passengers from the sunken ferry Sewol were slow and inefficient.

The move came one day after relatives of the victims denounced its lax management of the tragic accident and apology from President Park Geun-hye.

“We are aware that victims’ families have been angered by delayed operation on rescue and search,” said spokesman Koh Myung-suk in a regular briefing. “We will soon make an announcement regarding our position about the rescue operations.”

He did not give a specific time when this would occur.

The committee representing the relatives of the missing and dead held a news conference the previous day to criticize President Park for making an apology during a Cabinet meeting, rather than addressing them and the people directly.

They also urged the government to actively identify the cause of the accident and continue working on rescue efforts.

The committee argued that government officials and those involved with the ship operator were only interested in their job performance, saying they must be punished.

“Relevant ministries who failed to provide any support and suggest alternatives should take responsibility as well,” it said.

In fact, questions have arisen over a conflict between voluntary divers and the Undine Marine industries, a private company that signed a contract with the Coast Guard to lead the rescue operation.

Several divers revealed that the company asked them to hand over bodies they found first, in order to demonstrate the company’s competence on the job.

Rep. Jin Sung-joon of the New Politics Alliance for Democracy raised fresh suspicions Wednesday that the Coast Guard blocked access for the Navy’s ship salvage unit (SSU) and underwater demolition team (UDT)-SEAL, the most elite troops for maritime rescue work, to the vessel during the rescue operation to give priority access to Undine.

“According to the material from the defense ministry, the Guard kept the Navy personnel from entering into the waters,” said Rep. Jin in a press release.

Meanwhile, the task force team added that it will first search cabins that had doors open, and then expand their work to other closed rooms and public spaces until early May.

By Wednesday afternoon, 210 passengers were confirmed dead, with 92 still unaccounted for.

The ill-fated ferry Sewol sank off the southwest coast of Jindo on April 16 carrying 476 passengers, mostly high school students.

Follow Jun Ji-hye on Twitter @TheKopJihye