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Sinking of MV Sewol
On the morning of Wednesday, 16 April 2014, the ferry MV Sewol sank while en route from Incheon towards Jeju City in South Korea. The 6,825-ton vessel sent a distress signal from about 2.7 kilometres (1.7 mi; 1.5 nmi) north of Byeongpungdo at 08:58 KST (23:58 UTC, 15 April 2014). Out of 476 passengers and crew, 304 people died in the disaster, including around 250 students from Danwon High School in Ansan. Around 82% of the Sewol's casualties were children. Out of the 172 survivors, more than half were rescued by fishing boats and other commercial vessels that arrived at the scene approximately 40 minutes before the Korea Coast Guard (KCG).
The sinking of Sewol resulted in widespread social and political reaction within South Korea. In a short-answer poll taken by Hankyoreh newspaper in December 2014, the Sewol disaster was voted the second most important historical event in South Korea since the country's independence, behind only the Korean War. Many people criticized the actions of the ferry's captain and most of the crew. Also criticized were the ferry's operator, Chonghaejin Marine, and the regulators who oversaw its operations, along with the administration of President Park Geun-hye for her response to the disaster and attempts to downplay government culpability, and the Korean Coast Guard for its poor handling of the disaster, and the perceived passivity of the rescue-boat crew on scene. Outrage has also been expressed against the initial false reporting of the disaster by the government and South Korean media, who claimed everyone aboard had been rescued, and against the government for prioritizing public image over the lives of its citizens in refusing help from other countries, and publicly downplaying the severity of the disaster.
On 15 May 2014, the captain and three crew members were charged with murder, while the other eleven members of the crew were indicted for abandoning the ship. As part of a government campaign to manage public sentiment over the official response to the sinking, an arrest warrant was issued for Yoo Byung-eun (described as the owner of Chonghaejin Marine), but he could not be found despite a nationwide manhunt. On 22 July 2014, the police announced that a body found in a field in Suncheon, roughly 290 kilometres (180 mi) south of Seoul, was identified as Yoo.
At the time of its purchase by Chonghaejin Marine on 8 October 2012, the ship that would come to be known as MV Sewol was eighteen years old and dilapidated. It was originally named Ferry Naminoue and was operated from 1994 to 2012 as a transport ship for cargo and passengers by the Japanese company A-Line Ferry. According to A-Line Ferry, it did not experience any problems during its service in Japan.
Chonghaejin modified the ship from 12 October 2012 to 12 February 2013, and registered it on 22 October 2012. The modifications included adding two decks of passenger space and expanding cargo space. Gross tonnage increased by 239 tons to 6,825 tons and passenger capacity increased by 116 people for a total of 956 passengers and crew. The modifications shifted the center of gravity up by 0.51 m (1 ft 8 in) and created a left-right imbalance. After the sinking, Korean website Daily Labor News reported that the modifications were illegal before retracting the statement.
The modified ship was inspected and certified by the Korean Register of Shipping (KR). KR reduced the maximum cargo load by 1,450 tons to 987 tons, and increased the ballast carried by 1,333 tons to 1,703 tons. The cargo limits were not known by the Korea Shipping Association, which managed ferries, or the Korea Coast Guard (KCG), which oversaw the Shipping Association. Certification included an inclining test. Sewol received its inspection certification and certification for the prevention of sea pollution on 12 February 2013. After the inspections, 37 tons of marble were added to the exhibition room at the rear of the new bridge deck. After the sinking, the Board of Audit and Inspection discovered that KR's licensing was based on falsified documents.
Sewol began operations on 15 March 2013. She made three round trips per week from Incheon to Jeju, each one-way voyage of 425 kilometres (264 mi) taking 13.5 hours to complete. On 19 February 2014, she received an interim inspection and a periodic inspection from the Register. It made 241 round trips by the day of the incident.
On 15 April 2014, Sewol scheduled departure from the port at Incheon at 6:30 p.m. KST. was delayed by fog, which reduced visibility to less than 1 kilometre (0.62 mi). A low visibility warning issued by the port's vessel traffic service (VTS) was in effect from around 5:30 p.m. to 8:35 p.m. During this period, the Shipping Association held Sewol's departure. The Shipping Association checked the weather conditions with the operator of the Palmido lighthouse and consulted the KCG before authorizing the ship to proceed at about 8:50 p.m. Sewol departed around 9 p.m., and was the only ship to leave port that evening.
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Sinking of MV Sewol
On the morning of Wednesday, 16 April 2014, the ferry MV Sewol sank while en route from Incheon towards Jeju City in South Korea. The 6,825-ton vessel sent a distress signal from about 2.7 kilometres (1.7 mi; 1.5 nmi) north of Byeongpungdo at 08:58 KST (23:58 UTC, 15 April 2014). Out of 476 passengers and crew, 304 people died in the disaster, including around 250 students from Danwon High School in Ansan. Around 82% of the Sewol's casualties were children. Out of the 172 survivors, more than half were rescued by fishing boats and other commercial vessels that arrived at the scene approximately 40 minutes before the Korea Coast Guard (KCG).
The sinking of Sewol resulted in widespread social and political reaction within South Korea. In a short-answer poll taken by Hankyoreh newspaper in December 2014, the Sewol disaster was voted the second most important historical event in South Korea since the country's independence, behind only the Korean War. Many people criticized the actions of the ferry's captain and most of the crew. Also criticized were the ferry's operator, Chonghaejin Marine, and the regulators who oversaw its operations, along with the administration of President Park Geun-hye for her response to the disaster and attempts to downplay government culpability, and the Korean Coast Guard for its poor handling of the disaster, and the perceived passivity of the rescue-boat crew on scene. Outrage has also been expressed against the initial false reporting of the disaster by the government and South Korean media, who claimed everyone aboard had been rescued, and against the government for prioritizing public image over the lives of its citizens in refusing help from other countries, and publicly downplaying the severity of the disaster.
On 15 May 2014, the captain and three crew members were charged with murder, while the other eleven members of the crew were indicted for abandoning the ship. As part of a government campaign to manage public sentiment over the official response to the sinking, an arrest warrant was issued for Yoo Byung-eun (described as the owner of Chonghaejin Marine), but he could not be found despite a nationwide manhunt. On 22 July 2014, the police announced that a body found in a field in Suncheon, roughly 290 kilometres (180 mi) south of Seoul, was identified as Yoo.
At the time of its purchase by Chonghaejin Marine on 8 October 2012, the ship that would come to be known as MV Sewol was eighteen years old and dilapidated. It was originally named Ferry Naminoue and was operated from 1994 to 2012 as a transport ship for cargo and passengers by the Japanese company A-Line Ferry. According to A-Line Ferry, it did not experience any problems during its service in Japan.
Chonghaejin modified the ship from 12 October 2012 to 12 February 2013, and registered it on 22 October 2012. The modifications included adding two decks of passenger space and expanding cargo space. Gross tonnage increased by 239 tons to 6,825 tons and passenger capacity increased by 116 people for a total of 956 passengers and crew. The modifications shifted the center of gravity up by 0.51 m (1 ft 8 in) and created a left-right imbalance. After the sinking, Korean website Daily Labor News reported that the modifications were illegal before retracting the statement.
The modified ship was inspected and certified by the Korean Register of Shipping (KR). KR reduced the maximum cargo load by 1,450 tons to 987 tons, and increased the ballast carried by 1,333 tons to 1,703 tons. The cargo limits were not known by the Korea Shipping Association, which managed ferries, or the Korea Coast Guard (KCG), which oversaw the Shipping Association. Certification included an inclining test. Sewol received its inspection certification and certification for the prevention of sea pollution on 12 February 2013. After the inspections, 37 tons of marble were added to the exhibition room at the rear of the new bridge deck. After the sinking, the Board of Audit and Inspection discovered that KR's licensing was based on falsified documents.
Sewol began operations on 15 March 2013. She made three round trips per week from Incheon to Jeju, each one-way voyage of 425 kilometres (264 mi) taking 13.5 hours to complete. On 19 February 2014, she received an interim inspection and a periodic inspection from the Register. It made 241 round trips by the day of the incident.
On 15 April 2014, Sewol scheduled departure from the port at Incheon at 6:30 p.m. KST. was delayed by fog, which reduced visibility to less than 1 kilometre (0.62 mi). A low visibility warning issued by the port's vessel traffic service (VTS) was in effect from around 5:30 p.m. to 8:35 p.m. During this period, the Shipping Association held Sewol's departure. The Shipping Association checked the weather conditions with the operator of the Palmido lighthouse and consulted the KCG before authorizing the ship to proceed at about 8:50 p.m. Sewol departed around 9 p.m., and was the only ship to leave port that evening.