Yoo suspected of lobbying politicians

By Kim Tae-gyu

Investigators have begun looking for evidence on whether the de facto owner of Chonghaejin Marine, the operator of the submerged ferry Sewol, lobbied politicians and bureaucrats for special treatment.

Prosecutors widened their probe earlier this week after they raided the offices of Chonghaejin Marine and the residence of its de facto owner, 73-year-old businessman Yoo Byung-eun, a former chief executive officer of the now-defunct Semo Marine.

They suspect that Yoo lobbied government officials or politicians so that they would condone its violations of safety regulations and wrongdoings during a refurbishing of the secondhand ship.

The Sewol is believed to have been loaded with far more cargo than allowed by safety standards.

When it capsized off the southwestern coast April 16, resulting in hundreds of deaths, the Sewol carried some 2,000 tons of freight, almost double its capacity of below 1,100 tons.

Chonghaejin Marine has also monopolized the lucrative sea route between the western port city of Incheon and the scenic holiday island of Jeju.

“Chonghaejin Marine purchased the old ship Sewol and remodeled it to make money. We will look into the procedures and how the authorities endorsed them to discover any irregularities,” an official of the investigation team said.

The Sewol was launched in 1994 in Japan and Chonghaejin bought the ferry two years ago. The entity added a deck to the 6,825-ton ship so that its passenger capacity could increase from 804 to 921.

As a result, the vessel was vulnerable to outside shocks and is believed to have turned over after a sharp turn in waters where there are notoriously powerful tidal currents.

Originally, Korea did not allow vessels aged more than 20 years to carry passengers, but the limit was eased to 30 years during the Lee Myung-bak administration. Observers claim that the revision prompted Chonghaejin to purchase the Sewol.

An unidentified former aide to Yoo also said that Yoo offered bribes to politicians of both the governing and opposition camps.

“Yoo had his underlings deliver bribes to politicians of different parties. An executive at one of Yoo’s outfits typically took charge of the dirty jobs,” the aide told a local newspaper. “Once, I handed over two apple boxes filled with company funds to Yoo.”

He added that Yoo is the owner of Chonghaejin Marine because he holds stakes in the shipping firm under the names of former and incumbent company executives to avoid paying taxes and observing regulations.