The special investigation team of the Sewol Ferry disaster, which was launched in November 2019, to reinvestigate allegations related to the ferry disaster, officially ended its investigation on January 19th. However, controversy continues as they cleared most of the 17 allegations. The bereaved families as well as politicians expressed great disappointment over the outcome of the special team. 4/16 Sewol Families for Truth, A Safer Society, and other organizations related to the ferry disaster filed an appeal with the Supreme Prosecutor’s Office and requested a reinvestigation. Rep. Park Joo-min, who hosted the Democratic Party’s Social Disaster Task Force, also criticized the investigation saying, "The results of the special team's investigation are both disappointing and obvious." The investigation should continue for the bereaved families' desire for a thorough investigation into the disaster, and for the realization of the justice of the nation.
The first is the allegation about the Ministry of Justice and the Blue House's external pressure on the prosecution's investigation. In June 2014, then Justice Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn ordered prosecutors at Gwangju District Prosecutor's Office, who oversaw the investigation at the time, to exclude ‘a charge of professional negligence resulting in death’ by police officer Kim Kyung-il, who was the field commander on the day of the ferry disaster. Woo Byung-woo, then Senior Secretary to the President for Civil Affairs, pressured the prosecution’s investigation team, which was conducting a seizure search on the Coast Guard's main office, not to search the computer server of the Coast Guard situation room. However, the special investigation team cleared the charges, saying that it is not considered abuse of authority. Specific testimonies have already been made on this charge for a long time. But the special team cleared them of the charges, citing statements made by those involved who said they did not remember anything about the case. In addition, the special team only conducted a written investigation into Hwang and Woo, saying that it is an excessive investigation to conduct a summons investigation at a time when it is difficult to admit the charges. The second is the allegation about the Blue House’s external pressure on the Board of Audit and Inspection (BAI). It is well known that the Park Geun-hye administration failed to properly operate the ‘control tower’ at that time. In response, the BAI audited the Blue House but it concluded in October 2014 that the case could not be established. The BAI’s audit result was an important criterion for judging the Blue House’s response, so a thorough reinvestigation was needed. However, the special team said that it was true that presidential report was not submitted to the Board of Audit and Inspection, but there was no evidence that the audit was ordered to be reduced or suspended. The third is the allegation about the surveillance of bereaved families ordered by National Intelligence Service (NIS). The special team admitted that the government inspected the bereaved families at that time. However, it concluded that it is difficult to say that the inspection interfered with the specific rights of the bereaved families. “If someone forcibly acquires unwanted information without consent, it is judged to be an infringement of rights. The special investigation team did not consider this,” said Lee Jeong-il, an attorney on the Sewol ferry task force.
The state must protect the lives and safety of its people, and when those involved in the obligation fail to fulfill their obligations, strict measures must be taken. However, contrary to expectations of a righteous outcome, the special investigation team's result was ‘not guilty of most of the charges involved.’ To solve the task that the special team has failed to solve, a future investigation and measures that the majority of the public can sympathize with will have to continue.