Government rejects Sewol ferry disaster survivors’ request for re-deliberation on compensation process

Yellow memorial ribbons are tied to the iron pier of Mokpo New Port in Dal-dong, Mokpo-si, South Jeolla Province, where the hull of the Sewol ferry is preserved, on April 13, 2018, three days before the ninth anniversary of the Sewol ferry disaster. Yonhap News Agency

It has been confirmed that the government's deliberation committee rejected Sewol ferry disaster survivors’ request for an ex officio re-deliberation on the compensation process despite a recommendation by a national investigation agency that the compensation process for the victims of the disaster should be reviewed.

According to a report by Kyunghyang Shinmun on April 14, the “April 16 Sewol Ferry Disaster Compensation Deliberation Committee” under the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries sent an official letter to Jeju survivors of Sewol ferry tragedy on the 9th, effectively rejecting the application for an ex officio re-deliberation, saying it was "impossible."

Earlier, 24 Sewol ferry survivors living in Jeju Island applied for an ex officio re-deliberation of the disaster based on a report issued by the Special Investigation Committee of Social Disaster Commission in December 2021. In the report, the committee said, "At the time of the disaster, the government pushed for compensation and indemnification without fully considering the victims’ situation, and it is necessary to consider an ex officio re-deliberation in light of various problems that occurred during the compensation and indemnification process."

Since then, courts have issued a series of rulings acknowledging the government's liability for damages in victims' lawsuits against the country. In January 2023, the Seoul High Court ruled that the government must pay a total of 88 billion won to the bereaved families of the disaster. In March this year, the court ruled in favor of some of the plaintiffs in a lawsuit for damages filed by the survivors against the government. After a series of rulings requiring the country to pay compensation to the victims, the Sewol ferry tragedy survivors in Jeju again requested the deliberation committee to "conduct an ex officio re-deliberation."

However, the committee refused. In a letter sent to the survivors on April 9, the chairperson of the committee stated, “There is no wrong or serious or obvious defect in the decision to pay compensation under the Sewol Ferry Damage Support Act."

In response, the Jeju survivors of the Ferry Sewol disaster protested, saying, "It was a decision that overlooked the characteristics of a “survivor.” "The survivors are unable to get their lives back together due to trauma, and physical examinations have confirmed that they will suffer from stress disorder until at least 2028," said Choi Jung-kyu, their legal representative. "It is clear that the compensation was made in haste based on inadequate medical certificates, but the problems (the survivors have been suffering from) are not being properly highlighted in that they are not deliberated separately.”

※This article has undergone review by a professional translator after being translated by an AI translation tool.