ed Lessons from disaster

Premier resigns, but systemic problems must be addressed

Prime Minister Chung Hong-won resigned Sunday over the sinking of a ferry that has left more than 300 people ― many of them high school students ― dead or missing.

It’s hardly surprising that the premier has tendered his resignation, given that the government has come under harsh criticism over its poor handling of one of the nation’s biggest maritime calamities after the vessel capsized off the southeastern coast on April 16.

But with more than 100 people still unaccounted for and all hope of finding survivors having almost vanished, the problem is that his resignation and the ensuing Cabinet reshuffle would be of no help in easing the grief of the families of the victims. The public’s anger and frustration has not yet subsided over the lack of a control tower in times of crisis, and the inadequate initial response of civil servants and other numerous systemic issues.

What’s needed then is to learn lessons from the ferry Sewol disaster in order to avoid any repeat of such a man-made tragedy. Specifically, President Park Geun-hye and our entire society need to change completely so that the nation can be entirely different to the period before and after the sinking as far as safety issues are concerned.

First and foremost, there is a strong need to look into what happened. This means that we have to get to the bottom of our systemic problems, including irregularities and wrong practices in the maritime industry, and the government’s incompetence throughout the aftermath of the accident calmly and thoroughly.

All this explains why the nation should launch a bipartisan investigation into the disaster, modeled after the 9/11 commission which was launched one year after al-Qaida’s terrorist attack on the United States that killed more than 3,000 people. The panel will have to find out why such an absurd tragedy took place, why the government’s rescue operations were tardy and protracted and why similar calamities are repeated, and let the public know our fundamental problems all the more keenly. This will be the first step toward making the sacrifices of the disaster victims not appear to be futile.

It’s also necessary to make it mandatory for all people to receive practical education and training regarding safety. It’s our belated regret that the ferry sinking wouldn’t have been a tragedy of this scale had anti-disaster drills been carried out properly in schools so that students could judge emergencies on their own and cope with them.

So the government should first redo the monthly civil defense drill from scratch. The 40-year-old training has degenerated into a perfunctory event, which merely prompts people to complain of the waste of time and money. The most important thing is to make the drill practical so that it can help people evacuate in times of actual disaster situations.

The ferry disaster has sparked calls for systemic changes that are serious enough to remodel the nation, but safety awareness ought to begin among all individuals. What’s needed is for each member of the public to follow safety rules and take an active part in anti-disaster drills.