Lawmaker-elect seeks to extend Sewol probe

Park Ju-min, a lawmaker-elect of the main opposition Minjoo Party of Korea (MPK), talks with civic activists in Seoul on March 28. / Courtesy of Park Ju-min’s Office

By Kim Hyo-jin

Over two years have passed since the sinking of the Sewol ferry that left 304 dead or missing, but many questions surrounding the tragic incident remain unanswered.

Victims’ families claim the investigation made by an independent fact-finding committee has made little progress due to a lack of cooperation by the government and the ruling Saenuri Party. The committee is scheduled to be dissolved in June under a special law, and the families and their lawyers are demanding that the duration of the probe be extended. But the ruling camp has largely been negative about their demands, citing possible political conflicts over the investigation.

However, the situation has changed following the ruling party’s defeat in the April 13 general election.

The main opposition Minjoo Party of Korea (MPK) secured 123 of 300 parliamentary seats that were up for grabs. Of its 123 lawmakers-elect, one is the lawyer of the bereaved family of Sewol victim Park Ju-min.

The political newcomer clinched a victory in Eunpyeong A district, northwestern Seoul, just three months after he entered politics. Park vowed to revise the Sewol law to extend the operation of the special committee.

“It’s still not going to be easy but I’m pinning my hopes on the Saenuri Party to change its stance and cooperate,” Park said in an interview with The Korea Times.

Park, who has been representing the victims’ families for the last two years, drew much attention when he joined the MPK in January.

Some wondered why he opted for the main opposition party when his far-leftist political orientation would click better with more radical minority opposition parties.

“I had a specific goal when entering politics. To make it happen quickly, I had to sound out the possibility and realistic conditions,” Park said. “And I thought it’d be right to join a party with greater potential.”

Park had raised pertinent questions as to whether the government and the ruling party have the willingness to explore the accident, since the committee’s activity crippled by lack of their cooperation.

The last thing he wants was the probe fading further while the Saenuri Party retains power in the upcoming Assembly.

Park also needed to extend the committee’s operation period, especially as the sunken ferry will have been salvaged by this coming July.

“The Sewol bill was not made on the premise that the ferry will be salvaged. The bill should be revised in a way to give the committee the right to probe the ship itself as well as clarify its operation period.”

Underlining these are only things the victims’ families want to put in a revision bill, Park said, “I just hope that no groundless rumors spread anymore like they want more compensation or seek to give the victims the title of honorary death. Please stop back-biting them.”

Ongoing questions

The 17-member committee was launched early last year, tasked with pinpointing and punishing those responsible for the nation’s worst maritime disaster, in which only 172 of 476 passengers were rescued.

The primary culprits ― such as Captain Lee Joon-seok and the sailors who abandoned their passengers while escaping, and the Korea Coast Guard which failed to carry out a swift rescue ― have been prosecuted.

The committee expanded the investigation to the Korean Register of Shipping which is responsible for ship inspections, the ferry’s operator Cheonghaejin Marine Co., high-ranking officials at the Korea Coast Guard and the Presidential office.

Its decision to track President Park Geun-hye’s whereabouts on the very day was faced with a strong backlash by Saenuri Party-designated committee members.

They boycotted the meeting and hearings, accusing the committee of politicizing the issue. Saenuri pushed ahead with a bill to cut the committee’s budget to one-third of the amount it originally requested.

Later, the Saenuri-linked members were found to have followed the government’s guidelines. A news organization discovered guidelines from the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries made for the ruling party-appointed members last November. It said if the committee attempts to investigate Cheong Wa Dae, they should step down en masse and hold a press conference in protest, which they did accordingly.

Criticizing the governing bloc for stonewalling, Park argued that the remit of the probe should be expanded to the President. An overhaul of the government’s emergency response system is inevitable, he said.

“Former President Bush was also under investigation in the wake of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. It was not to interrogate him for causing the tragedy but to check if the leader was notified in a timely manner and made appropriate orders in the urgent situation,” he said.

Park added the problem of skipping the basic procedure has been detected in the nation’s continued failing response to further disasters.

“In the case of a state of emergency, the President is supposed to step up and mobilize resources efficiently but that's not what happened,” he said.

“You will know how dysfunctional the system still remains in the case of the MERS whose first breakout was reported to Park three hours later and another delayed report when soldiers were injured by the mine blast in the demilitarized zone.”

Before sinking, the recklessly remodeled 6,825-ton ferry listed to one side for a number of hours after it made a sharp turn off the southwest coast. The passengers were ordered to stay still, and as soon as the Coast guard arrived, the captain, sailors and engineers escaped first. The authorities didn’t mobilize enough rescue resources when there were 476 passengers trapped in the capsized ferry.

With many unsolved questions lingering, further suspicions were raised over the connection between the ferry operator Cheonghaejin Marine Co. and the National Intelligence Service.

The documents found in the ferry and left by the company employees indicate that the ferry was under close inspection by the spy agency and a deceased employee on board was found to have made a call to NIS agents after the ferry started listing. The special committee decided to look further into that link.

Asked about the meaning of such investigation, Park said it could tell to which extent a governmental body is responsible for the tragedy.

“If the suspicions on their links turned true, it should be held accountable for mismanaging the ferry, overlooking habitual overloading of cargo,” he said. “Also, it needs to explain why it failed to act on mobilizing rescuers right after receiving the report by Cheonghaejin Marine Co.”

Life as lawyer

Park used to be called a “lawyer on the streets.” He stayed beside the bereaved families of the Sewol victims who have been staging a sit-in at Gwanghwamun and near the Presidential office over the past two years. Colleagues at his law firm supported him financially with donations.

Park was already a notable public interest lawyer before taking the Sewol case on the request of the families’ former legal advisors. He also advocated for residents opposing the government’s construction of a naval base in Gangjeong Village on Jeju Island, and those protesting the construction of transmission towers by the state-run electronic firm in the southeastern city of Miryang.

The experienced civic lawyer laid out his legislative plans with much enthusiasm.

“Working as a lawyer over the past 11 years, I realized there are many practical systems and laws to be introduced in our society.”

He cited a procedural law for national projects that guarantees the authorities’ pre-consultation with residents as one example.

“It could’ve eased conflicts if the residents were informed and given the chance to express their opinions. But it was not the case for Miryang and Gangjeong,” he said. “One day, villagers could be just told to move out of where they live. Can you believe it still happens in 2016?”

He added he will seek to introduce a procedural law concerning the government’s signing of treaties, and a law that guarantees the right to record meetings of government bodies and make them public upon citizens’ request.

“I’m so ready to take it whatever it takes. I will hire extra aides even if I have to support them with my own money,” he said.

The onetime passionate student activist, who was determined to stay an activist after graduation, changed his mind to become a lawyer one day.

“I was waiting to meet a ward head with the poor who were to be kicked out of their shantytown due to development. It was heavily snowing that day and we waited for hours outside the administrative building but to no avail,” he said. “Looking at little kids who came along with me shivering, I wondered if they would snub us if I had power, if I was a lawyer.”

He came back to civic society as a lawyer after passing the bar exam.

“I haven’t turned down the offers when people asked me. I did it because I liked it,” he said. “I’m most happy when I can help others rather than earning money.”

Park said he wants to become a lawmaker who can bridge the gap between people and the legislative.

“I hope to become a politician who can reflect people’s voices into politics,” he said. “Politics estranged from the public will then change and could function properly.”