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South Korean President Vows to Disband Coast Guard Over Ferry Sinking - New York Times


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Asia Pacific |South Korean President Vows to Disband Coast Guard Over Ferry Sinking



http://nyti.ms/1lSiKfk


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SEOUL, South Korea — President Park Geun-hye of South Korea vowed on Monday to disband her country’s Coast Guard, saying that South Korea owed “reform and a great transformation” to hundreds of high school students who died in a ferry disaster last month.


Bowing deeply before television cameras, Ms. Park offered a “heartfelt apology” for failing to prevent the sinking of the 6,825-ton ferry, Sewol, on April 16 and for the Coast Guard’s bungling of rescue operations.


“The ultimate responsibility lies with me, the president,” she said.


Although she had apologized a few times over the sinking, Ms. Park’s nationally televised speech on Monday was her clearest expression of public contrition. As of Monday, 286 people had been confirmed dead, with 18 missing, making the episode one of the country’s worst peacetime disasters. It has also developed into Ms. Park’s biggest political crisis; over the weekend, the police detained more than 200 people who had tried to march on her office, calling on her to step down.


“We failed to save those students who should have been saved,” Ms. Park said. “I will make this an opportunity for South Korea to be born again.”


She promised a reorganization of her government to help it deal more efficiently with disasters. She said she would disband the Coast Guard, which she said failed to do enough to save the students. The vast majority of the dead and missing were students who were trapped in the ferry after its crew repeatedly urged them to stay put in the dangerously listing vessel. The first Coast Guard boats arriving at the scene on April 16 saved the ship’s captain and other crew members deserting the ship, and made little effort to reach the trapped students.



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