By Kim Tae-gyu
Hardship sometimes strengthens friendship.
This may be said of President Park Geun-hye and other leaders’ reactions after the Asiana Airlines’ aircraft that crashed in San Francisco, Sunday.
More than half of the passengers on board were Chinese with two teenage Chinese girls being the only fatalities.
President Park leads the wave by expressing her condolence to the families of the victims two days in a row.
“My heart goes out to families of the two Chinese students and others injured by the airliner crash. I regret the incident because what I care about most is safety of people,” Park said in a weekly Cabinet meeting on Tuesday.
“If we recognize there could be any safety problems, we have to come up with the right preventive measures in advance … The cause of this accident must be clarified in detail.”
A day before, she sent a similar message of condolence to Chinese President Xi Jinping while promising full supports in dealing with the tragedy’s aftermath and uncovering its cause. Park recently had a very successful state visit to China, showing off the heightened level of friendship between the two countries.
“Park seems to worry that the improved relationship between the two countries through her summit with Xi might be undermined by the crash,” said a source who is familiar with the issue.
Park flew to Beijing earlier this month to have summit talks with Xi at a time when the neighbor’s support is so significant in the light of its influence on Pyongyang.
The meeting was deemed successful as Park managed to establish rapport with Xi, who is also worried about the North’s nuclear ambitions after its third atomic test in February.
Park might not be the only South Korean high-ups who have such concerns.
Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se also extended his “deepest condolences and sympathy” on Monday while pledging to make utmost efforts to cope with the disaster.
Kwon Young-se, Seoul’s newly-appointed ambassador to Beijing, also posted a message on the embassy’s Internet site to deliver condolences to the victims, while vowing to cooperate with related Chinese entities to handle the accident.
Following Asiana Airlines Chief Executive Officer Yoon Young-doo, who wasted no time in apologizing for the accident on Sunday, Kumho Group Chairman Park Sam-koo said Tuesday, “I feel sorry and sorry again (for the victims).”
Kumho Group is a mid-tier conglomerate and Asiana is its flagship subsidiary.
A Boeing 777 operated by Asiana Airlines, Korea’s No. 2 carrier, crash-landed Sunday at San Francisco International Airport resulting in the death of the two teenage Chinese girls.