By Lee Hyo-sik

The prosecution will bring criminal charges against a number of Coast Guard officials who allegedly neglected their duties when the Sewol ferry sank on April 16. At the time of the tragedy they were working at a maritime traffic control tower on Jindo Island. According to the Gwangju District Prosecutors’ Office, investigators are looking into allegations that Coast Guard officials at the vessel traffic service (VTS) center on Jindo Island did not follow procedures when dealing with distress calls from the Sewol. They also allegedly failed to monitor the status of the ferry when it sailed nearby, and tampered with duty logs and surveillance camera footage in an attempt to cover up their wrongdoings. “The investigators are analyzing the transcript of communications between the crew of the ferry Sewol and the Jindo VTS Center and surveillance camera footage to see whether Coast Guard officials performed their duties properly,” a prosecutor said. “We are trying to figure out why it took 18 minutes for the VTS center to respond to the distress calls from the Sewol. We would like to know what happened between 8:48 and 9:06 a.m. on April 16.” The prosecution plans to seek an arrest warrant for the officials if they are found to have erased the surveillance camera footage and tampered with duty logs. In April, investigators raided the Jindo VTS Center twice and summoned 10 officials for questioning. A total of 476 people were aboard the 6,825-ton vessel when it sank off the nation’s southwestern coast. Of that number, 172 were rescued with 11 still remaining missing. President Park Geun-hye has vowed to disband the Coast Guard and establish a comprehensive government investigation.