Most Popular
-
1
Marine Corps commander summoned by CIO for questioning on alleged influence-peddling case
-
2
Debate rages over ‘overly fatty’ samgyeopsal
-
3
[Weekender] Korean psyche untangled: Musok
-
4
40 flights canceled on Jeju Island due to bad weather
-
5
[Eye Interview] 'If you live to 100, you might as well be happy,' says 88-year-old bestselling essayist
-
6
From fake prostitution ring to nonexistent robber, prank calls hamper police
-
7
N. Korea slams US, other countries for seeking alternative to UN sanctions monitoring panel
-
8
Missing S. Korean traveler in Paris found safe after 2 weeks
-
9
Defense chiefs of US, Australia, Japan decry NK-Russia military cooperation
-
10
Pandemic left Korea more depressed than before: report
-
[Ferry Disaster] Rescue boat issued evacuation orders to Sewol passengers: officer
The maritime police, under fire for bungling an initial rescue operation of a capsized ferry a fortnight ago, said Monday one of its rescue boats at the scene had repeatedly told passengers to escape the listing ship and jump overboard.The 100-ton rescue boat, called 123, of the maritime police office in Mokpo, a southwestern port city, was the first to arrive at the scene where the 6,825-ton Sewol sank on April 16."We issued warning announcements toward the Sewol and ordered passengers to jump
Social AffairsApril 28, 2014
-
[Ferry Disaster] Bad weather stymies search for missing in sunken ferry
Strong winds, high waves and rain effectively halted search operations Monday for more than 100 passengers still missing from a deadly ferry disaster two weeks ago.Only one body was retrieved in the on-and-off search operations over the weekend, and adverse weather conditions thwarted overnight attempts to resume search efforts, leaving the death toll unchanged at 188 and the number of the missing at 114.Of the 476 passengers aboard the 6,825-ton ship Sewol that capsized in waters off South Kore
Social AffairsApril 28, 2014
-
[Ferry Disaster] FSS probe of ferry mogul uncovers suspect bank loans
A child holds candles at a vigil held by a group of multicultural families to mourn the deaths of the ferry passengers in Ansan, Gyeonggi Province, Saturday. (Yonhap)Yoo Byung-eon, the de facto owner of the sunken ferry Sewol, is believed to have been given 22 billion won ($21.4 million) in favorable loans from multiple lenders, the nation’s financial watchdog said amid a widening probe into irregularities behind the operations of the disastrous vessel.Yoo reportedly received 12.8 billion won wo
April 27, 2014
-
[Ferry Disaster] Ferry investigation targets maritime police
South Korean authorities on Sunday expanded their probe into the ferry disaster that left more than 300 people dead or missing as search and rescue operations continued at a slow pace off the southern coast. Since the passenger ferry Sewol sank on April 16, the death toll has climbed to 188, with 114 still unaccounted for, as of 6 p.m. Sunday.As part of the investigation into the accident, investigators requested search warrants for the Coast Guard in Mokpo, South Jeolla Province, to look into w
Social AffairsApril 27, 2014
-
[Ferry Disaster] Search resumes for missing students of sunken ferry amid bad weather
South Korean coast guard personnel and divers resumed their search Sunday to find the missing from a capsized ferry, with murky water and strong currents hampering their efforts.After temporarily halting the operation for nearly 11 hours due to strong winds, the Coast Guard, Navy and civilian divers resumed their search of the submerged ferry Sewol to retrieve bodies from cabins on the third and fourth decks, where most of the missing are believed to have been trapped, Coast Guard officials said
Social AffairsApril 27, 2014
-
[Ferry Disaster] Opposition party raps P.M.'s resignation
South Korea's main opposition party on Sunday demanded President Park Geun-hye apologize for the deadly sinking of a ferry and lashed out at the prime minister, calling his resignation offer "utterly irresponsible." In a press conference held less than an hour after Prime Minister Chung Hong-won announced his intent to step down over the ferry sinking, Ahn Cheol-soo, co-leader of the New Politics Alliance for Democracy (NPAD), said the president should show a sense of responsibility for the acci
PoliticsApril 27, 2014
-
[Ferry Disaster] Prime minister quits over ferry disaster
Prime Minister Chung Hong-won offered to resign Sunday amid public outrage over the government’s bungled response to the sinking of the Sewol ferry, in which over 300 died or went missing. “On behalf of the government, I want to apologize for a series of problems from preventive steps (for such accidents) to the government’s initial response and follow-up measures,” he said in a press conference at the government complex in Seoul. “Witnessing the sorrows of those who lost their loved ones and sa
Social AffairsApril 27, 2014
-
[Ferry Disaster] Prosecutor: All 15 crew that navigated ferry held
All 15 people involved in navigating the South Korean ferry that sank and left 302 people dead or missing are now in custody after authorities on Saturday detained four more crew members, a prosecutor said. Yang Jung-jin of the joint investigation team said two helmsmen and two members of the steering crew were taken in on preliminary arrest warrants issued late Friday. Eleven other crew members, including the captain, had been formally arrested earlier. All are accused of negligence and of fail
Social AffairsApril 26, 2014
-
[Ferry Disaster] Bad weather delays rescue operation as hopes fade in ferry disaster
Concerns are growing among anguished families that the bodies of those who died in the sinking of a South Korean ferry may never be found, as search teams suspended work Saturday because of bad weather.A looming storm and high tides put a temporary halt to operations to recover the remains of more than 100 people still missing over a week after the huge ferry capsized."Over the weekend, strong wind and rain is expected in the Jindo area", a coastguard spokesman told journalists."As efforts to fi
Social AffairsApril 26, 2014
-
[Ferry Disaster] Ansan after Sewol: ‘Our children are trying to get back to school’
ANSAN, Gyeonggi Province ― Tears, sighs and quiet loomed over the city of Ansan after last week’s Sewol tragedy left more than 300 passengers dead or missing ― most of them second-year students from Ansan’s Danwon High School.Mourners in black laid white chrysanthemums at the altar set up inside the Ansan Olympic Memorial Museum, where photographs of the deceased students and teachers surrounded by flowers are placed. Several visitors sobbed as they read the numerous Post-it notes that covered t
Social AffairsApril 25, 2014
-
[Ferry Disaster] Scars from Sewol wreck may run deep
Korea is struggling to extricate itself from deep sorrow following the deadly conclusion of what started out as a carefree field trip for Danwon High School juniors last week. More than 300 students of the school were involved in the sinking of the Sewol ferry, and the deaths reported so far are taking a toll on the nation. Psychological experts believe the grief will not be easy to shake, and that the pain of the memory will have a lasting impact on society.“Such tragic accidents tend to have l
Social AffairsApril 25, 2014
-
[Ferry Disaster] Did culture of obedience aggravate disaster?
One of the stereotypes about Koreans is that, regardless of their age or cultural experience, they have deeply ingrained Confucian values including deference to the elderly.Those values may provide an easy way to describe Korean society, but they do not determine the way young liberal Koreans behave, particularly in life-threatening emergencies, experts said.In the wake of the ferry disaster last Wednesday, many foreign media outlets have focused on what they called Korea’s “hierarchical culture
Social AffairsApril 25, 2014
-
[Ferry Disaster] Tragedy brings Korea to a standstill
Government offices remained closed on Friday except to conduct search operations and support the Sewol victims and their families.Private companies have also temporary held off or scaled down both internal and external events as the country mourns the latest tragedy, which has brought Korea to a standstill.As the death toll ― mostly teenagers ― from the devastating accident continues to increase, the public outcry and criticism of the government’s lack of regulatory oversight and poor crisis man
Social AffairsApril 25, 2014
-
[Ferry Disaster] Probe sweeps across shipping industry
Former and incumbent Korea Register of Shipping (KR) officials were banned from leaving the country on Friday as the repercussions from the sinking of the ferry Sewol reverberated through the country’s shipping industry. According to the Busan District Prosecutors’ Office, current and former KR officials including former CEO Oh Gong-kyun have been barred from leaving the country on suspicion of a number of corrupt practices. Oh, who held a high-level post in the maritime ministry, was also inves
Social AffairsApril 25, 2014
-
[Ferry Disaster] FSS expands Semo inquiry to all affiliates
The nation’s financial watchdog is widening its probe into all financial subsidiaries of the now-defunct Semo Group, a suspected source of funds for Yoo Byung-un, the owner of Chonghaejin Marine Co. and the sunken ferry Sewol.The Financial Supervisory Service is preparing an extensive audit on Semo Credit Union and other affiliated financial companies, FSS officials said Friday.The FSS will also further investigate the allegations that several of the local banks granted loans to the financially
April 25, 2014
-
[Ferry Disaster] Finding the hero within us
On Jindo Island, family members of passengers still missing from the April 16 sinking of the Sewol, a ferry with 476 people on board, shuttle back and forth between the indoor gymnasium that has become a temporary shelter and Paengmok Harbor, where the recovered bodies are brought from the accident site.A thousand thoughts must run through the minds of family members during the 30-minute ride to the harbor to identify what could be their loved one’s body. Wailing fills the air at Paengmok Harbor
Social AffairsApril 25, 2014
-
[Ferry Disaster] Sewol search turns increasingly grim
The mother of the 5-year-old girl rescued alone from the Sewol ferry was found Thursday, adding yet another heartbreaking story to the tragedy. The story of the little girl’s rescue has been tugging at the heartstrings of people across the world since the ship sank off the country’s southeastern coast of April 16.Kwon was on her way to her parent’s tangerine farm on Jejudo Island with her 6-year-old brother. The two little Kwons were playing away from their parents when the vessel began to list.
Social AffairsApril 24, 2014
-
[Ferry Disaster] Mogul faces tax, graft probe
Yoo Byung-eonAuthorities are to track financial transactions of former Semo Group chairman Yoo Byung-eon and his family in connection to irregularities by the sunken ferry Sewol’s operator Chonghaejin Marine Co.In addition, the Busan District Prosecutors’ Office raided the Korean Register of Shipping (KR), which is responsible for ensuring the structural integrity of ships, as the probe expands across the shipping industry. KR is suspected of taking bribes in return for conducting lax inspection
Social AffairsApril 24, 2014
-
[Ferry Disaster] Divers face growing fatigue
South Korean divers searching for missing passengers in the sunken ferry Sewol are suffering from health problems, according to a rescue center. Ten divers from a joint rescue team of civilian and state organizations were treated in decompression chambers on two Navy ships Wednesday, after showing symptoms of paralysis and severe headaches. One has been confirmed as having decompression sickness, the emergency center said Thursday. “Divers are suffering from more fatigue as the rescue operation
Social AffairsApril 24, 2014
-
[Ferry Disaster] Cult linked to ferry mogul probed
Amid a stepped-up probe into the sinking of the ferry Sewol, prosecutors have raided the Seoul headquarters of a religious group called the Salvation Sect, thought to be led by the true owner of the ill-fated ship.Yoo Byeong-eon, a former chief of Semo Group, is believed to be leading the sect and presumed to be a veiled owner of Chonghaejin Marine, the much-criticized operator of the Sewol.Prosecutors have been tracing Yoo’s financial assets in an apparent attempt to hold him responsible for th
Social AffairsApril 24, 2014