Teachers' Groups Mark 12th Anniversary of Sewol Ferry Disaster: "A Safer Educational Environment Needed"

On the occasion of the 12th anniversary of the Sewol Ferry Disaster, a teachers' organization has urged the government and local governments to work towards creating a safer educational environment.

On April 16, the Korean Federation of Teachers’ Associations (KFTA) issued a statement, saying, “Together with 500,000 educators across the country, we deeply mourn the 250 beloved students and 12 fellow teachers who lost their lives, among other victims.”

Yonhap News Agency

The KFTA stated, “Educators nationwide continue to remember and honor the noble sacrifice of the teachers at Danwon High School, who gave their lives to save their students at the time of the tragedy. The lesson of the Sewol Ferry Disaster will only be fully realized when everyone in our society puts respect for life and safety awareness into practice.” The organization also called on the government and local governments to “actively improve systems and secure budgets to create an even safer educational environment.”

The Korean Teachers and Education Workers Union (KTU) also released a statement on the same day, expressing deep sorrow in remembrance of the 304 precious lives lost in the disaster and offering condolences to the bereaved families and victims.

The statement continued, “The Sewol Ferry Disaster was a painful milestone that called into question the very reason for the state’s existence and the value of human dignity in our society. Over the past 12 years since the tragedy, we have continuously asked, ‘Is the state protecting the lives of its citizens?’; ‘Are we truly empathizing with the suffering of others?’; and ‘Is the future that our students will face safer than yesterday?’ Unfortunately, the reality is that social disasters, including the Itaewon tragedy, continue to occur, and we have yet to properly identify their causes or hold those responsible to account.”

Jin Sooyoung, Head of the True Education Division at KTU, stated, “In order to build a society where human life and safety take precedence over money, we must remember the Sewol Ferry Disaster.” Jin also expressed hope that the ‘Basic Life and Safety Act,’ which mandates responsibility from the state and corporations for accident prevention and victim protection, will be passed by the National Assembly as soon as possible.

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