Park Jumin on Sewol Special Prosecutor's Non-Indictment Decision: "Cannot Conclusively Say There Are No Manipulation Suspicions"

Democratic Party lawmaker Park Ju-min is having a conversation with Sewol ferry victims' families about the issue of clearing the Sewol ferry memorial space ahead of its removal on the afternoon of July 23 in front of the Sewol ferry Gwanghwamun Memory Space.
Photo by Yoon Seul-gi, intern reporter

[Asia Economy Reporter Yoon Seul-gi] Park Jumin, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, commented on the Sewol ferry special prosecutor team's decision not to indict regarding the 'Sewol ferry disaster evidence manipulation allegations,' stating, "It cannot be definitively concluded that there was no manipulation suspicion."

Park, who has been dedicated to uncovering the truth about the Sewol ferry incident, appeared on YTN Radio's "Hwang Bo-seon's Starting New Morning" on the 11th and said, "The Social Disaster Special Investigation Committee (SDSIC) has yet to express its position, so I am cautious," adding, "Looking at the press release distributed alongside the investigation results, there was virtually no comparable reference regarding data manipulation, making it difficult to properly examine this aspect."

Regarding the Sewol ferry victims' families' view that the investigation was insufficient, he explained, "It seems the investigation stalled due to the lack of comparable references," and added, "This also appears to be because forensic processes and related procedures were not smoothly conducted."

He continued, "Although further verification is needed, I conveyed to the special prosecutor's office that since the hard disk had undergone multiple forensic examinations, conducting another forensic analysis might damage the data or the hard disk itself," and pointed out, "It is worth examining whether other specialized organizations could have handled this. This aspect also needs to be reviewed."

When asked if the three-month time limit prevented uncovering the suspicions, Park said, "Since the SDSIC conducted the initial investigation and provided related materials and information before the special prosecutor's office was activated, the short period should not have been an issue."

He added, "The special prosecutor's office was established at the request of the SDSIC. The preliminary investigation was conducted by the SDSIC," and continued, "They will likely analyze the special prosecutor's announcement today and express their position. Based on that, it will be revealed whether the SDSIC will conduct additional or separate investigations on this matter in the future."

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