Kim Young-hwan: "President Moon, It's Time to Move On from Sewol Ferry" Strong Statement

Former People Power Party lawmaker Kim Young-hwan. Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Kang Juhee] Former People Power Party lawmaker Kim Young-hwan urged President Moon Jae-in to "now get off the Sewol ferry."

This was in response to the Blue House's statement that "the task of uncovering the truth will be followed up by the Special Investigation Commission on Social Disasters," after the special prosecutor team led by Lee Hyun-joo, which investigated allegations of evidence fabrication related to the Sewol ferry disaster, concluded on the 10th that there was "no evidence or charges."

On the 11th, Kim posted on Facebook, saying, "It is time for President Moon Jae-in to get out of the Sewol ferry. The last person who has not yet gotten out of the Sewol ferry is President Moon Jae-in."

He emphasized, "All nine investigations, including the special prosecutor in 2014, concluded with no charges," adding, "In particular, the prosecution's special investigation team stated when announcing the results that 'we cannot forcibly create a case that does not exist.' This is the truth."

He continued, "However, the Blue House said, 'The investigation into the Sewol ferry truth will proceed in the future through the Special Investigation Commission on Social Disasters.' Do they still have lingering attachment to the Sewol ferry?"

Kim lamented, "Why was President Park Geun-hye impeached? How did the seven hours related to the Sewol ferry contribute to President Park's impeachment?" He added, "So many rumors have been created over time. All kinds of defamatory rumors that are hard to even mention have run rampant. She is still imprisoned after more than four years."

He further stated, "If the Druking investigation had been conducted with the same intensity and determination as the Sewol ferry investigation over nine times in nine years, would President Moon Jae-in have been able to remain intact?" He concluded, "Now the time for truth is approaching. All truths will be revealed once again after a regime change."

President Moon Jae-in is speaking at the K-Global Vaccine Hub Vision and Strategy Reporting Conference last August. / Photo by Yonhap News

Earlier, the special prosecutor team led by Lee Hyun-joo held a press conference at the Seoul Bar Association in Seocho-gu, Seoul, and concluded that there was "no evidence or charges" regarding the investigation into allegations of evidence fabrication related to the Sewol ferry disaster.

The special prosecutor, launched on May 13, investigated for about three months the following: allegations of data manipulation of the Sewol ferry's closed-circuit television (CCTV), suspicions regarding the Navy and Coast Guard's collection process of the Sewol ferry's DVR (CCTV storage device), and the appropriateness of the government's response, including the Blue House, related to the DVR.

On the day, the special prosecutor said, "We decided not to file charges as we could not find supporting evidence or criminal charges," adding, "We have made our best efforts to uncover the truth. We hope this investigation has resolved the related suspicions."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.