What Went Wrong?

This awful situation shortly became known as South Korea's worst maritime disaster. Yet, everyone could have been rescued in mere minutes. So what exactly went wrong? Why did the MV Sewol start to sink and who is to blame?

Timeline Of Events

April 15, 2014 at 9 p.m.- Sewol Leaves Port

The Sewol, a 6,825-ton car ferry, left South Korea’s port of Incheon with 476 passengers and crew on board, including 325 high school students.

April 16- 8:52 a.m.

A passenger contacts 119. The passenger says “help me, the ship seems to be sinking”

April 16 at 8:55 a.m. - First Distress Call

The ferry made its first distress call after the vessel started to drift and tilt.

9:18 a.m.- Quickly Sinking

The Sewol reported that it was listing at an angle of more than 50 degrees.

9:23 a.m.- Second Call for Help

The ship continued to list and filled with water as a second distress call was sent: “We are about to sink.”

9:25 a.m.

In a call between the South Korean distress service and the Sewol ferry, the traffic service representative said “escape call should be made on the captain’s judgment, make a decision now”

9:35 a.m.- The Evacuation

The first Coast Guard boats arrived to help rescue passengers and crew members. The ferry’s captain was among the first to leave the sinking ship.

9:38 a.m.- Final Communication

In the ship’s last communication with emergency dispatchers, the bridge reported that the vessel was listing at 60 degrees. “Those who can evacuate through the port side are trying it,” a voice said over the radio.

9:47 a.m.

Captain officially abandons ship.

11:18 a.m. Sewol Sinks

It took two and a half hours for the ferry to capsize and become submerged.

April 18- Captain and Crew Held

The captain, Lee Jun-Seok, was charged with abandoning the boat and its passengers at a time of crisis. “I bow before the people and grieved families and apologize,” Mr. Lee told reporters as he was led to jail.

April 20- Bodies Recovered

After days of rescue efforts stymied by strong currents and poor visibility, divers made their way into the sunken ferry and began bringing out bodies. Of the 302 people dead or missing, 250 were high school students.

April 28- President Apologizes and Premier Resigns

President Park Geun-hye apologized for failing to prevent the ferry disaster. Prime Minister Chung Hong-won, the No. 2 official in the South Korean government, resigned.

April 30- A City Mourns

Nearly three-quarters of the 11th graders at Danwon High School died in April 2014 on the Sewol. “To say that this neighborhood feels empty would be an understatement. This neighborhood feels like a morgue,” said Kim In-jea, 57, who lives nearby and said seven of his neighbors lost their children.

May 15- Murder Charges Brought

Prosecutors brought murder charges against the ferry’s captain, Lee Jun-Seok, and three other crew members. They have also tried, in vain, to interrogate the family of Yoo Byung-Eun, a church leader. Mr. Yoo’s two sons control the ferry’s operator, Chonghaejin Marine Company, through a holding company.

May 23- Manhunt for Ferry Owner

South Korea offered a $50,000 reward for information about the whereabouts of Yoo Byung-Eun, the missing billionaire who owned the ferry.

June 10- Trial Begins

The defendants faced the anger of victims’ families at the courthouse, where senior crew members denied the homicide charges against them. Relatives of the victims sat in the spectators’ gallery — some of them with yellow mourning ribbons pinned to their chests.

July 21- Ferry Owner’s Body Identified

Yoo Byung-Eun had been the target of the country’s largest manhunt ever since an arrest warrant was issued in May on charges of embezzlement, breach of trust, and tax evasion. Prosecutors sought to arrest him over the sinking of the Sewol.

July 26- A Tycoon’s Downfall

After a lifetime of building a flock that showered him with cash and helped fund a business empire selling everything from toys to ships, Yoo Byung-Eun found his moneymaking machine contributed to one of the worst peacetime disasters in South Korean history.

Oct. 6 South Korea Split Over Grief

Some groups publicly accused the families of holding the country hostage and said they had shared enough in the grief.

Oct. 27- Death Penalty Sought

The captain, Lee Jun-Seok, “did nothing to help rescue his passengers,” said Park Jae-Seok, the chief prosecutor, during a court hearing in Gwangju. “I am sorry. I will repent until the last day of my life,” Mr. Lee, the captain, said in a final statement. “When I look back, I feel nothing but shame.”

Nov. 11- Captain Sentenced

Lee Jun-Seok “abandoned his passengers, knowing that they were waiting for instructions from the crew and that if they were not evacuated, their lives would be at risk,” the presiding judge, Lim Joung-Youb, said in his ruling. Mr. Lee was spared the death sentence and given 36 years in prison.

March 3, 2015- New Antigraft Rules

The National Assembly of South Korea passed an anticorruption law that calls for up to three years in prison for public servants, journalists, and teachers who accept single cash donations.

April 28- Life Imprisonment

The high court in Gwangju accepted prosecutors’ arguments that the ferry's captain, Lee June-Seok, committed “murder through willful negligence” when he and his crew abandoned the ship. The court sentenced Mr. Lee to life in prison.

Picture Creds

Lack Of Proper Care

The Sewol ferry tragedy occurred from a lack of proper government administration and delayed safety services. Many witnesses note that post‐disaster rescue operations led by the Korea Coast Guard (KCG) were neither timely nor effective. The KCG allegedly refused help from other nations' navies during this disaster and arrived hours late to the scene resulting in hundreds of lost lives. As a cause of this disaster, a court ordered the South Korean government to pay $177,000 for families of deceased passengers.

Picture Creds

Greedy Officials and Overweight Cargo

Picture Creds

The greed of the captain and his closest officials is what ultimately deemed this preventable tragedy. Renovations by the owner, and approval by regulators, made the ferry more profitable, but also dangerous. Extra berths made the ship so top-heavy that dockworkers said it would lurch badly when loading or unloading. On the day the ferry sank, April 16, 2014, shippers had loaded twice the legal limit of cargo on its decks. Not only did the ship’s crew lie about the total weight of its cargo, but crew members also failed to properly secure the cars, trucks, and shipping containers to the decks. Some were tied down with ropes, instead of chains — or not secured at all. Despite a maximum cargo limit of 987 tons, the ship was allegedly hauling 3,608 tons when it sank off the country’s southwestern coast. Corrupt regulators, bought off by fancy dinners and travel, allowed the unsafe ship to sail. Had inspectors taken the time to board the vessel, it would have been hard to miss how grossly overburdened it was. The cheating at every level created a perfect storm. When the Sewol made a sharp turn while fighting a strong current, the badly balanced ferry began to keel over. The poorly secured cargo started sliding across the decks, forcing the ferry further onto its side. The ship soon capsized. More than 300 people were killed. Only 172 passengers made it off alive. During the disaster, students on the ship reported having noticed the ship started tilting just a few hours before it collapsed under the ocean. At 9:47 AM on April 16, 2014, the captain abandoned the ship hours before any other passenger. Minutes before he left, he advised everyone to stay aboard as they sank to their deaths. As a result of this negligence, Captain Lee Joon-Seok and three other crew members were accused of committing homicide and jailed.