South Korean investigators have announced that the Sewol Ferry operators are at fault for the ferry sinking, as they prioritized profit over the safety of their passengers.
The Sewol Ferry incident still remains on the minds of many Koreans as a major tragedy. When the ship capsized on April 16th, it resulted in the death of 296 people, approximately 200 of whom were only high school students. It's a horror story, because it could have been prevented. The captain of the Sewol Ferry as well as the rest of his staff are currently facing charges of murder and a possible death sentence because they failed to ensure the safety of their passengers, and escaped first.
It is coming to light now that not only were the captain and his crew irresponsible, but that the ferry operators themselves placed these 476 lives in danger. The day the ferry set off to sail, a vast amount of cargo, more than double the ship's capacity, was loaded onto the vehicle. The ferry sinking was thus a man-made accident.
It was further revealed through an interim report that the ship was licensed under falsified documents. This has only raised suspicions and fueled the manhunt for Korea's most wanted man Yoo Byung Eun, a billionaire pastor and businessman.
Yoo Byung Eun is a major public figure who leads the Evangelical Baptist Church in Korea. He is suspected of being the de facto owner of the ferry company that owns Sewol. The fact that the ship was illegally licensed and purposefully overloaded increases the urgency for his arrest. Police have yet to capture him however, as he has been on the run ever since the ferry incident, and is even protected by many of his religious followers. He is currently wanted for $500,000 (USD).
The more that is revealed regarding the details surrounding the Sewol Ferry incident, the darker the whole situation gets.
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