Prosecutors Raid Ministry of the Interior and Safety, Ministry of Economy and Finance for Obstructing Sewol Ferry Investigation

Special Investigation Committee Requests Investigation of 19 People and 10 Ministries
Former Vice Minister of Oceans and Fisheries Yoon Hak-bae Summoned for Investigation

Im Gwan-hyeok, head of the Ansan branch of the Suwon District Prosecutors' Office and chief of the Sewol Ferry Disaster Special Investigation Unit, is expressing his determination and stance at the inauguration on the 11th in the small conference room of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office in Seocho-gu, Seoul. / Photo by Moon Ho-nam munonam@

[Asia Economy Reporters Kim Hyung-min and Jung Dong-hoon] The prosecution is conducting raids on government ministries including the Ministry of Strategy and Finance, the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, and the Ministry of Personnel Management to secure evidence related to allegations of obstruction in the fact-finding investigation by the '4·16 Sewol Ferry Disaster Special Investigation Committee (Special Committee)'.

On the 22nd, the Special Investigation Team for the Sewol Ferry Disaster at the Supreme Prosecutors' Office announced that they obtained search warrants for the Ministry of the Interior and Safety's Economic Organization Division and Personnel Planning Office, the Personnel Management Bureau of the Ministry of Personnel Management, and the Safety Budget Division of the Ministry of Strategy and Finance, and dispatched prosecutors and investigators to secure materials. Additionally, on the 21st, the investigation team summoned former Vice Minister of Oceans and Fisheries Yoon Hak-bae as a suspect for questioning. They also stated that they have arbitrarily received and are analyzing all AIS trajectory data of the Sewol Ferry from the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries.

Previously, the investigation team also summoned former ruling party officials for questioning. On the 16th, former Special Committee Vice Chairman Cho Dae-hwan was summoned as a suspect and investigated. The prosecution questioned whether the Blue House and others influenced the formation, activity period reduction, budget cuts, and overall activities of the Special Committee. They also investigated the circumstances under which three public officials dispatched from the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries were ordered to return during the preparation phase of the Special Committee's establishment in January 2015.

Meanwhile, on the same day, the Special Committee held a press conference requesting investigations into 19 government officials at the time, including former Blue House Chief of Staff Lee Byung-gi, and a total of 10 ministries. At the conference, the Special Committee stated, "We have identified and are investigating circumstances where the Blue House and ministries such as the Ministry of Personnel Management were involved in obstructing the Special Committee's activities," and added, "We confirmed that acts obstructing the fact-finding investigation, such as withholding the dispatch of public officials to the Special Committee, were widespread and systematic criminal acts."

It was revealed that the Blue House's obstruction began around October 2015, after the Special Committee attempted to investigate the president's whereabouts on the day of the disaster. One of the Special Committee's findings is that former Chief of Staff Lee held internal Blue House meetings directing obstruction of the fact-finding investigation. Park Sung-ho, head of the Sewol Ferry Disaster Fact-Finding Bureau, disclosed that "the Blue House instructed to withhold the dispatch of 17 to 19 public officials, resulting in no additional public officials being dispatched until the end of the first Special Committee's term." The Special Committee announced that it will request an investigation by the prosecution's Sewol Ferry Disaster Special Investigation Team and provide 256 pieces of evidence.

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