Abstract
The passenger ship Sewol-ho traveling from the port of Incheon to Jeju island tragically capsized and sank off west coast of Jindo island in April of 2014. Of 476 passengers and crew on board the ship, just 172 were rescued and 294 are confirmed dead while 10 bodies remain missing. The tragedy is man made and unparalleled in modern Korean history. Due to such a large-scale disaster, South Korea’s marine and shipping policies are phasing into a critical turning point where policies for South Korea’s marine, shipping and vessels should be focused on substantially supplementing and strengthening disaster countermeasures, safety facilities and safety standards. Therefore, this study diagnoses the cause of damage, present status and issues caused by Sewol-ho disaster, as well as suggests policy improvements the government should drastically work on. Related amendments to law were presented as part of the measures, while establishing the special Sewol Law expected to improve total incompetence is also under discussion. However, the National Assembly has made very slow progress in discussing this. What is more important is to determine who should be responsible, while setting up policies for the following at the earliest moment: Taking preventive measures against reoccurrence in every aspect, preparing for maritime disasters and reinforcing safety standards. Otherwise, there is no bright future for us.
Highlights
The ferry Sewol traveling from the port of Incheon to Jeju island was reported to be sinking around 08:58 on April 16, 2014
The passenger ship Sewol-ho traveling from the port of Incheon to Jeju island tragically capsized and sank off west coast of Jindo island in April of 2014
The sinking of Sewol-ho, briefly speaking, refers to the accident where a passenger ship carrying high school students on a school trip to Jeju island capsized of the cost of Jindo island while heading to the resort island
Summary
The ferry Sewol (hereinafter Sewol-ho) traveling from the port of Incheon to Jeju island was reported to be sinking around 08:58 on April 16, 2014. The sinking of Sewol-ho, briefly speaking, refers to the accident where a passenger ship carrying high school students on a school trip to Jeju island capsized of the cost of Jindo island while heading to the resort island. At the time of the accident, Sewol-ho had 476 passengers on board and loaded 2,142 tons of cargo including vehicles. Of the passengers on board, tourists were 433 and crew members were 33, some 350 of those were high school students and teachers, with 104 ordinary passengers counted. Of the 476 passengers and crew on board, only 172 people were rescued in this maritime disaster. The tragedy is one of the worst maritime disasters in the country’s history, leaving 294 dead and 10 still missing. MPA 2014 this large-scale disaster is the biggest accident among all man-made accident records, major enough probably to be recorded even in world war history
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