DSC advised burying Sewol victims “at sea” and agitating public opinion against raising vessel

Surviving family members of the Sewol tragedy visit the site of the accident, the waters off Jindo island, South Jeolla Province, to mourn the victims and their lost loved ones on July 23. (Kim Bong-gyu, staff photographer)

Park Geun-hye was also advised to cry to improve public image

Documents have emerged confirming that the South Korean military’s Defense Security Command (DSC) advised the Blue House to “bury at sea” the victims of the tragic sinking of the Sewol ferry and to agitate public opinion against raising the ferry. The DSC also advised former president Park Geun-hye to improve her image by shedding tears and calling the victims by names, the documents show.

A DSC document, dated May 14, 2014, advising ex-president Park Geun-hye on how to use the Sewol tragedy to improve her public image. (provided by Rep. Lee Cheol-hui of the Democratic Party)

These documents, which were made public on July 11 by Rep. Lee Cheol-hui, a lawmaker with the Democratic Party, were composed on a daily basis in May and June 2014 by a Sewol ferry task force staffed by more than 60 DSC agents who were monitoring the families of the Sewol victims.

A document called “Important Report” that the DSC composed for a briefing with Park on June 4, 2014, noted that 93 percent of netizens were opposed to raising the ferry and stated that “the effectiveness of raising the ferry is doubtful in light of public opposition and a range of factors.”

The DSC argued that “the impracticality of raising the ferry” should be promulgated through expert interviews and press articles and advised that “a forum for candid dialogue with the families of the missing should be prepared to build a consensus that there is no need to raise the ferry.”

“In regard to the proposal made on June 7 to the Blue House about creating a maritime memorial like the USS Arizona Memorial in the US, we have reviewed the culture of sea burial in countries around the world,” the DSC added. This shows that the DSC had kept trying to convince Park of the infeasibility of raising the ferry since early June 2014. After mentioning sea burial culture in the US, China and India, the DSC document promised to “continue verifying information about maritime memorials in other countries.”

Part of a DSC document, dated June, 5, 2014, advising ex-president Park Geun-hye against raising the Sewol ferry. The document also advises Park to improve her public image through gestures of condolence to the family members of the Sewol victims. (provided by Rep. Lee Cheol-hui of the Democratic Party)

A daily report nine days later said it was “necessary to persuade the families that the ferry should not be raised regardless of whether all the bodies have been recovered when the recovery efforts conclude. Public opposition to raising the ferry should be spread to forestall arguments about the need to raise the ship to analyze the reasons for the accident.”

Government was concerned analysis of accident would lead to accountability

This effectively demonstrates that there were concerns that raising the ferry would prompt an analysis of the causes of the accident that could support calls for government accountability.

In a document called “Required Measures” from May 14, 2014, about a month after the Sewol sinking, the DSC observed that “the government’s approval rating is falling despite the apology and consolation provided by the VIP [president]” and advised Park to “present a look of sincerity that will appeal to the emotions.”

A DSC document, dated June 13, 2014, related to the impracticalities of raising the Sewol ferry. (provided by Rep. Lee Cheol-hui of the Democratic Party)

The DSC wrote that Park needed “an emotional presentation in her statement to the public,” while citing the example of former president Lee Myung-bak, who “recited the names of all the crew who died in the sinking of the Cheonan during his memorial speech for them.” On May 19, just five days later, Park recited the names of the Sewol victims while crying during a public statement.

The DSC advised Park to write a letter to the Sewol victims’ families and to pay particular interest to a 5-year-old girl surnamed Kwon, the only member of her family to survive the accident. “By providing a lifetime scholarship and other forms of support to Kwon, the only survivor to be orphaned, Park can expect to improve her maternal image as a female president,” the DSC explained.

“The Defense Security Command went dangerously astray when it set up a task force of 60 crack agents – who were supposed to be working on the front line of security and anti-espionage efforts – and had them design measures to improve the president’s image on the pretext of supporting a national disaster,” Lee Cheol-hui said.

　

By Kim Tae-gyu, staff reporter

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