A) The response of the Blue House
The Yoo Byung-eun probe and arrest operation were exploited as a trump card by the Blue House to deflect government accountability for the Sewol Ferry accident and shift the onus of guilt on the shipowner. The Blue House described the Sewol Ferry disaster as a “National disaster that caused suffering to the entire nation, a disaster caused by the greedy wealth increase of the Yoo Byung-eun family.” President Park Geun-hye requested “The Yoo Byung-eun family, the main cause of this disaster, is currently ridiculing the law and upsetting the populace, despite the fact that they are required to reflect and tell the truth in front of the people”, “The Yoo Byung-eun family’s actions are a threat to our society and illegal acts that cannot be excused or shielded in any way”, and “Please do your best to help the legal system promptly apprehend Yoo Byung-eun, expose the truth and the accusations, and handle the situation according to the law,” in the statement of the State Council on May 27, 2014.
Click below to read the full transcript of the Social Disasters Commission 416 Sewol Ferry Disaster Fact Finding Committee Reports Annex II (Korean)
