Sewol lifting delays Moon's presidential bid ceremony

By Jun Ji-hye

Moon Jae-in, the leading presidential contender of the Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) postponed an event, Thursday, at which he was to ceremonially declare his official bid.

He said the timing was inappropriate as the nation was in a solemn mood waiting for the salvage of the sunken ferry Sewol.

“As the Sewol ferry was raised to the surface today, Moon decided to refrain from running any election campaigning including the ceremony,” an aide told reporters.

Moon, who continues to lead opinion polls among presidential candidates, originally planned to make an announcement through a video clip and place it on social network services.

The aide did not clarify how long Moon will put this off.

Instead, Moon said if elected, he will set up a special fact-finding committee to unearth the truth about the maritime disaster, including the exact cause of the sinking.

“The salvage of the sunken vessel will be a significant moment in finding out the truth,” he said at a news conference held during a visit to Jeonju, North Jeolla Province. “I will definitely hold the relevant people responsible and take it as an opportunity to clean up deep-rooted problems regarding safety management.”

Moon also vowed to find out the reason why it took more than 1,000 days after the tragic accident for the ferry to be raised. He said he was aware that many people harbored suspicions over this.

The maritime disaster is seen as symbolic case of the incompetence of the administration of former President Park Geun-hye. It caused public outrage against Park as she was severely criticized for neglecting her duty as head of state in dealing with the accident. More than 300 people died in the sinking _ mostly students from Ansan’s Danwon High School, who were on a field trip to Jeju Island _ and the remains of nine have yet to be recovered.

When the Constitutional Court upheld the parliamentary impeachment of Park, March 10, Moon also put cancelled scheduled plans and visited Paengmok Port on Jindo, South Jeolla Province, near the site of the disaster, to meet with the relatives of the nine and offer words of consolation.

South Chungcheong Governor An Hee-jung, also from the DPK, added a visit to Paengmok Port early in the morning before touring Gwangju. An met with the bereaved families there and vowed to launch an investigation into the cause of the sinking. He then visited a group memorial altar and offered a silent tribute.

Rep. Ahn Cheol-soo, former co-chairman of the minor opposition People’s Party, said, through his aide Kim Cheol-geun, that the truth about what Park was doing during the “missing seven hours” while the ferry was sinking should be established.

“Such a tragic accident should never happen again,” Ahn was quoted as saying.

Meanwhile, South Gyeongsang Province Governor Hong Joon-pyo of the former ruling Liberty Korea Party wrote on Facebook, “The disaster should not be used by certain groups for political profit anymore.”