Prosecutors Raid Ministry of the Interior and Safety, Ministry of Economy and Finance Over Sewol Ferry Investigation Obstruction (Comprehensive)

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

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporters Kim Hyung-min and Jung Dong-hoon] The prosecution conducted raids and seizures 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 investigation by the '4·16 Sewol Ferry Disaster Special Investigation Commission (Special Commission).' They also launched an investigation into suspicions that the Sewol ferry's trajectory was manipulated on the day of the disaster.

The Supreme Prosecutors' Office Sewol Ferry Disaster Special Investigation Unit obtained search warrants on the morning of the 22nd for the Ministry of the Interior and Safety's Economic Organization Division and Personnel Planning Office, the Ministry of Personnel Management's Personnel Management Bureau, and the Ministry of Strategy and Finance's Safety Budget Division. Prosecutors and investigators were dispatched to secure internal documents related to the Special Commission's activities since 2014.

Additionally, on the 21st, the investigation unit summoned former Vice Minister of Oceans and Fisheries Yoon Hak-bae as a suspect for questioning. Yoon was already indicted on charges of abuse of authority and obstruction of rights for allegedly creating a 'Sewol Special Commission Response Task Force' within the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries to reduce the Special Commission's budget and organization and ordering the establishment of phased response strategies. He was sentenced in the first trial to 1 year and 6 months in prison with a 2-year probation.

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

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

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

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