The sinking of the MV Sewol traumatized Korea and baffled the world – how could a ferry simply turn over and sink in calm seas? Numerous investigations have failed to determine what caused the accident, even as crew members and the Coast Guard were found liable for their responses. Here is a timeline of the investigations, and other key dates.
2014
The Sewol sinks while transiting the Maenggol Channel off the southwestern coast of Korea. The ship is operated by Chonghaejin Marine Co. Of the 476 passengers, 304 die – including 250 high school students. The Korean Coast Guard fails to save most of the passengers although the ship takes hours to sink. Offers of foreign aid are rebuffed during those crucial hours.
2014
Coast Guard Capt. Kim Gyeong-il tells the media there were "several evacuation broadcasts" to passengers on the sinking ship.
2014
An arrest warrant is issued for Yoo Byung-eun, a semi-retired businessman with previous ties to Chonghaejin Marine, after he failed to appear on an arrest warrant on embezzlement charges. He is not charged in connection with the sinking.
2014
Hundreds of police officers storm property belonging to the Evangelical Baptist Church of Korea seeking Yoo.
2014
A badly decomposed body is discovered in a plum orchard in Suncheon, 186 miles south of Seoul.
2014
The body is identified as that of Yoo Byung-eun.
2014
The Supreme Prosecutors’ Office in Korea releases what it calls an “interim report.” The sinking is blamed on “negligence and corruption.”
2014
Coast Guard Capt. Kim Gyeung-il admits that there were no broadcasts instructing passengers to leave the Sewol.
2014
The final report from the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office tentatively blames “unseaworthiness as a result of modifications,” drainage of ballast water and a steering error as likely causes. No definitive determination of the cause is made.
2014
The Sewol’s captain, Lee Joon-seok, is sentenced to 36 years in prison for abandoning the ship and other errors. Prosecutors had sought the death penalty. Thirteen other crew members receive shorter sentences.
2014
The National Assembly enacts the Sewol Ferry Special Law and the Act on Regulation of Punishment of Criminal Proceeds Concealment – the so-called “Yoo Byung-eun Law.” It permits the South Korean government to subrogate the claims of the Sewol victims and sue private persons (such as Yoo Byung-eun) allegedly at fault for the sinking – even though the cause of the sinking has never been determined.
2014
The Korean Maritime Tribunal announces the results of their investigation report, which supports the earlier report from the prosecutors’ office.
2015
The Sewol Special Act is ratified. It allows non-family members or third parties to be subject to legal punishment, including seizure of property, if they are found to have helped business owners gain profits through malpractice.
2015
As the families of the victims, growing increasingly frustrated, demand to know why the ship sank, the Sewol Special Investigation Committee is formed to complete a more extensive investigation.
2015
The Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries announces plans to salvage the Sewol, a measure considered crucial to understanding the cause of the sinking.
2015
The Supreme Court surmises that the Sewol may have sunk because of engine failure rather than a steering error.
2015
Capt. Kim Gyeong-il, who falsely claimed an evacuation order was given, is sentenced to three years in prison for negligence and manslaughter.
2016
Hankyoreh reports that the Sewol had been carrying 278 tons of iron bars meant for the Jeju military base, and that the ferry’s sailing schedule may have been adjusted due to its government work.
2016
The Park Geun-hye Administration disbands the Sewol Special Investigation Committee. Critics claim this is done to prevent the completion of a report that will reflect badly on the administration.
2016
The National Assembly approves the impeachment of President Park.
2017
The Korean Constitutional Court removes President Park from office.
2017
The rusted, badly decayed wreck of the Sewol is raised.
2017
An eight-member panel, appointed by the new Moon Jae-in administration, re-opens the case. Because this is the first time the wreck itself can be examined, this becomes known as “The Hull Investigation.”
2017
The Sisa Journal reports that according to Daehan Ship Design’s stability calculations, the Sewol had a maximum capacity of 2272 tons of cargo, not 987 as previously claimed. This would mean she was not overloaded when she sank.
2017
The government forms the Special Investigation Commission on Social Disasters to re-investigate both the Sewol and a previous tragedy, the deaths of 100 people due to a dangerous disinfectant. The administration saw these two incidents as linked by a thread of greed and safety shortcuts made by corporations.
2018
The Ministry of National Defense announces that the military’s intelligence arm, the Defense Security Command (DSC), conducted surveillance and intimidation of bereaved loved ones of Sewol victims.
2019
“The Hull Investigation” panel concludes the cause of the accident cannot be determined. External factors, such as collision with a submarine or other unknown object, cannot be ruled out. The Western media does not report this finding.
2019
A new “Sewol Special Prosecution Task Force” is launched “to probe what happened on the day-of, which measures were taken (by the authorities) and (other) details of related situations.”
2021
The Sewol Special Prosecution Task Force announces the conclusion of its work. The task force focused on the government’s handling of the disaster and did not address the cause of the sinking, instead simply endorsed the 2014 prosecution’s findings.
2021
All nine members of the Coast Guard charged in the failed rescue, including the head, are acquitted.
2021
President Moon Jae-in announces special pardon for President Park Geun-hye; the Sewol victims’ families protest.
March 3
Organizations representing the victims of the Sewol disaster and their families demand that Yoon Suk-yeol, president elect, commits to efforts to uncover the truth of the sinking.
May 10
Yoon Suk-yeol presidency begins.
September 10
The Social Disasters Commission released its final report, failing to find a cause while suggesting that the government had committed "state crimes” against the families of the Sewol victims.
To this day, no definitive explanation for the sinking has been found.
