By Yi Whan-woo
The disbanding of the Korea Coast Guard (KCG) was one of the most astonishing parts of President Park Geun-hye's speech Monday.
The Coast Guard has been under fire for its ham-fisted handling of the April 16 sinking of ferry Sewol.
Critics claim that it wasted the so-called "golden hour" to save passengers just after the ferry started to sink.
Then, during the subsequent search-and-rescue operations, it faced countless allegations about incompetence and shady deals. The National Police Agency will assume investigative duties from the Coast Guard.
It is inevitable that the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries (MOF), which supervises the Coast Guard, will face an overhaul, according to President Park.
The Ministry of Security and Public Administration (MOSPA) will also lose its status as the control tower for major disasters.
The tentatively-named National Safety Agency will be set up to assume safety related duties.
"The KCG failed to fulfill its mission in this disaster," Park said during a televised speech at Cheong Wa Dae. "It could have reduced sacrifices of the passengers to great extent if it actively carried out rescue operations immediately after the accident."
In the government restructuring, the Park government transferred jurisdiction over maritime disasters from the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) to the MOSPA.
MOF was revived by Park's predecessor Lee Myung-bak.
The government will submit a bill related to revision of the roles of those ministries to the National Assembly.
"I agree with the President on scrapping the KCG, considering it is responsible for committing manslaughter and has lost public trust completely," said Hong Seong-tae, vice chairman of the People's Solidarity for Participatory Democracy, a civic rights group.
He referred to KCG's negligence in the rescue effort at the disaster scene with suspicionthat it had collusive business ties with a private firm specialized in salvage works.
"However, it should be stressed that this large-scale accident took place because of corruption within the government units, not because of the administrative system.
Jun Jin-han, manager at the Center for Freedom of Information and Transparency, said that the government overhaul "won't be of much help."
The disbanding of the Korea Coast Guard (KCG) was one of the most astonishing parts of President Park Geun-hye's speech Monday.
The Coast Guard has been under fire for its ham-fisted handling of the April 16 sinking of ferry Sewol.
Critics claim that it wasted the so-called "golden hour" to save passengers just after the ferry started to sink.
Then, during the subsequent search-and-rescue operations, it faced countless allegations about incompetence and shady deals. The National Police Agency will assume investigative duties from the Coast Guard.
It is inevitable that the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries (MOF), which supervises the Coast Guard, will face an overhaul, according to President Park.
The Ministry of Security and Public Administration (MOSPA) will also lose its status as the control tower for major disasters.
The tentatively-named National Safety Agency will be set up to assume safety related duties.
"The KCG failed to fulfill its mission in this disaster," Park said during a televised speech at Cheong Wa Dae. "It could have reduced sacrifices of the passengers to great extent if it actively carried out rescue operations immediately after the accident."
In the government restructuring, the Park government transferred jurisdiction over maritime disasters from the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) to the MOSPA.
MOF was revived by Park's predecessor Lee Myung-bak.
The government will submit a bill related to revision of the roles of those ministries to the National Assembly.
"I agree with the President on scrapping the KCG, considering it is responsible for committing manslaughter and has lost public trust completely," said Hong Seong-tae, vice chairman of the People's Solidarity for Participatory Democracy, a civic rights group.
He referred to KCG's negligence in the rescue effort at the disaster scene with suspicionthat it had collusive business ties with a private firm specialized in salvage works.
"However, it should be stressed that this large-scale accident took place because of corruption within the government units, not because of the administrative system.
Jun Jin-han, manager at the Center for Freedom of Information and Transparency, said that the government overhaul "won't be of much help."
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