Captured in one frame: President Yoon Seok-yeol (left) stands alongside former President Park Geun-hye, marking a significant moment in South Korea’s political landscape.

A Tale of Two Tragedies: How Sewol and Itaewon Reshaped Political Narratives

By Byung Kee Park

Seoul, South Korea — The Sewol ferry and the Itaewon incident have a similarity. They both heavily burdened the national administrations at the time of their occurrences.

The Sewol ferry disaster (Sinking of MV Sewol) occurred on April 16, 2014, when the passenger ferry Sewol, heading to Jeju Island, sank near Jindo, Jeollanam-do, resulting in 304 deaths and missing persons out of the 476 passengers on board. In 2015, due to the persistent demands of the victims' families, the Sewol Ferry Special Law was established, and a special investigation committee was launched. However, many suspicions related to the disaster remain unresolved. At the time, 339 students and teachers from Danwon High School in Ansan, Gyeonggi-do, were aboard the Sewol; 262 of them were either killed or went missing.

This disaster led to the impeachment of then-President Park Geun-hye, who was later linked to the Choi Soon-sil scandal. The main reason for her impeachment by the Constitutional Court was the Choi Soon-sil scandal, but the background included the Sewol ferry disaster. Following the Sewol incident, Park faced significant public criticism, and after her associate, Choi Soon-sil, was alleged to have manipulated government affairs, Park was impeached. The Park administration apologized and ordered a thorough investigation into the root cause of the disaster. 

However, in practice, the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries, the organization in charge of investigating the incident, drafted an ordinance that hindered the special committee's activities. Park's government failed to cooperate with the victims' families and the special committee. They delayed appointing members to the committee for over two months and interfered with the recommendation of members.

The grief of the victims' families and the public remains unhealed, and the scandal involving Choi Soon-sil erupted, leading the public to turn its back entirely on President Park. Even major newspapers like Chosun Ilbo, JoongAng Ilbo, and Dong-a Ilbo, which had long supported Park and her father, former President Park Chung-hee, took the lead in calling for Park's impeachment.

The Itaewon disaster occurred on October 29, 2022, during a Halloween festival in a narrow alley next to the Hamilton Hotel in the Itaewon World Food Street, Yongsan-gu, Seoul. In this stampede accident, 196 people were injured, and 159 died. Due to a significant number of foreign casualties, the incident attracted worldwide attention.

Having experienced the pain of the Sewol ferry disaster, President Yoon Seok-yeol quickly made a statement on October 30, 2022, declaring a national mourning period and prioritizing the response to this incident. He showed sincerity by visiting the joint memorial altar for the Itaewon disaster victims for three consecutive days. However, no one was held accountable for the incident, and for a year, no one faced 'legal responsibility.'

The two presidents' ardent supporters have questioned why they should be held responsible for these tragedies, and some have even ridiculed the victims' families on and offline.

Currently, President Yoon Suk Yeol has a support rate of around 30%. The public feels neglected due to the president's inability to address their grievances and concerns for their well-being. There are increasing calls for his impeachment. This situation mirrors the unexpected public outrage leading to the impeachment of Park Geun-hye, influenced by allegations that Yoon Suk Yeol and Minister of Justice Han Dong-hoon manipulated evidence during the Choi Soon-sil investigation. Some media outlets that had supported Yoon are now publishing negative articles about him, creating a similar atmosphere to the time leading up to Park's impeachment.

In a recent interview, Lee Joon-seok, who played a crucial role in Yoon's rise to the presidency but was subsequently sidelined by him, hinted at significant upcoming revelations on the manipulation. 

Additionally, as the first anniversary of the Itaewon disaster approached, families of foreign victims expressed their pain and disappointment in the Korean government's indifference and coldness.