SKorea: Ferry disaster families shave heads in protest

By Alex Jensen

SEOUL

 Parents of victims of the Sewol ferry disaster gathered in central Seoul Thursday to step up calls for justice - which they insist should have come before a compensation package was offered by the government a day earlier.

Around 50 parents sat to have their heads shaved in protest at Gwanghwamun Square, a key site for those who feel that the authorities have not sufficiently investigated the tragedy which claimed 304 lives - mostly high school students on a field trip.

Nine of those on board the boat that sank off the country’s southwest coast last April are still missing.

On Wednesday some relatives held a press conference to issue the singular demand that the ferry be salvaged so that loved ones’ remains can be recovered.

Thursday’s protesters repeated that request, while chants of “the truth never sinks” reemphasized their determination to pressure Seoul into permitting an independent investigation they have requested for months.

Such a probe looked to have been set in motion last November, when South Korea’s National Assembly passed a long-debated related bill.

Since then the government has been accused of trying to influence the investigation through the appointment of public officials to the committee set up to look into the disaster.

The events of April 16, 2014, triggered a shift in South Korean society, that brought about a more critical attitude towards public safety, corruption, and incompetence.

All three were highlighted when the mismanaged Sewol lost balance on that fateful morning, and when the passengers’ evacuation was fatally delayed.

The captain’s own swift escape led to a 36-year prison, while several other crew and operating officials have also met with justice via the South Korean legal system.

The Sewol’s de facto owner was found dead after evading the authorities for several weeks following the tragedy.

But protesting family members still seek to uncover any wrongdoing, as made clear in a statement on Thursday.

“The priority for the government should not be monetary compensation but getting to the bottom of the incident, salvaging the wreckage, and finding the last missing persons,” it read.