South Korea changing maritime rules after sinking

[Omaha Steve]

Source: AP-Excite

By YOUKYUNG LEE

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — The South Korean government is scrambling to fix what the prime minister calls the "deep-rooted evils" that contributed to last month's ferry sinking, which left more than 300 people dead or missing.

As investigators probe cozy links between the shipping industry and its regulators, Seoul has promised new monitoring and regulations for domestic passenger ships, which are not governed by international rules. Here are the initial steps the Ministry of Ocean and Fisheries and other groups have taken:

WHO'S ON BOARD?

The ministry says all information about passengers will be processed electronically beginning in June, with similar changes for vehicles and cargo beginning in July. The measures are meant to fix a system that produced uncertainty about how many people were on the Sewol when it sank, and especially about the amount of cargo it was carrying.

Under the current system, passengers write down their names, genders, birthdays and contact numbers. Many people, including cargo truck drivers who use ferries on monthly passes, didn't bother filling them out. Authorities believe 476 people were on the Sewol when it sank, and only 174 of them are known to have survived.

FULL story at link.


Read more: http://apnews.excite.com/article/20140505/skorea-ship_sinking-reforms-136854461d.html

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FILE - In this April 18, 2014 file photo, South Korean Coast Guard officers search missing passengers aboard the ferry Sewol, center, in the water off the southern coast near Jindo, South Korea. The South Korean government is scrambling to fix what Prime Minister Park Geun-hye calls the {201c}deep-rooted evils{201d} that contributed to last month{2019}s ferry sinking, which left more than 300 people dead or missing. As investigators probe cozy links between the shipping industry and its regulators, Seoul has promised new monitoring and regulations for domestic passenger ships, which are not governed by international rules. (AP Photo/Yonhap, File) KOREA OUT

[davidpdx]

1. Another good article on what is going on here in Korea

Deregulation by conservatives was one of the reasons behind the accident. The company and the captain both were reckless in allowing the ferries to be overloaded with passengers and cargo.

[Jesus Malverde]

2. It's also likely the modifications to the ship that made it top heavy were

done with a wink wink.

Cozy relationships or blatant corruption.

The South Koreans are famous for their Chaebols which thrive through fraudulent accounting and bribery.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chaebol

[davidpdx]

3. Yep, I'm well aware of that

And the government tends to look the other way, especially the conservative government we are stuck with for another 4 years. If the liberal parties here would stop screwing themselves they might win an election. There is a National Assembly election on June 4th and hopefully some seats will swing the other way and stop the current administration's corporate horseshit.