SEWOL.- Effective disaster control system essential
- Details
- Category: General
- Published on Tuesday, 20 May 2014 22:39
- Hits: 993
Posted : 2014-05-18 18:00
Updated : 2014-05-18 21:18
.jpg) |
| Jun Jin-han, right, manager at the Center for Freedom of Information and Transparency, talks about the government's disaster control system as seen from the Sewol ferry disaster during a discussion at a restaurant in Jeong-dong, downtown Seoul, Wednesday. Other participants are Im Tobin, center, president-elect of the Korean Association for Public Administration and Hong Seong-tae, vice chairman of the People's Solidarity for Participatory Democracy. / Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chul |
This is the third in a series of roundtable discussions designed to give an in-depth look into the causes of the Sewol ferry sinking and find ways to prevent the recurrence of such a disaster. The Korea Times invited three experts on governance, Wedneday, to discuss how weakness in the government administration caused the sinking of the Sewol to grow into a large-scale disaster. The experts were Im Tobin, president-elect of the Korean Association for Public Administration and also a professor at the Graduate School of Public Administration at Seoul National University; Jun Jin-han, manager at the Center for Freedom of Information and Transparency; and Hong Seong-tae, vice chairman of the People's Solidarity for Participatory Democracy and culture and content professor at Sangji University. Korea Times Politics Desk Editor Shim Jae-yun moderated the session and reporter Yi Whan-woo transcribed it. — ED.
.jpg) |
Jun Jin-han: It seems the KCG has not considered rescue operation as a part of its job and instead let private companies, such as Undine Martine Industries, do the work. By doing so, the KCG has limited its role in this tragic accident and failed to save people's lives. I think that's the key issue we should pay attention to. The Coast Guard officers, suspected of collusive business ties with those firms, literally watched people dying in front of them without taking certain actions they were responsible for. And they deserve to face manslaughter charges.
.jpg) |
|
"Safety regulations should be strengthened with deregulations being implemented to raise efficiency of the national economy. " — Hong Seong-tae |
.jpg) |
| "Where there is disaster, there is a corruption lying underneath and those who are involved try to hide it. " — Im Tobin |
.jpg) |
| "I think we, NGO members, as well as the media, are responsible for failing to monitor the corruption within the KCG that has grown over the past few years." — Jun Jin-han |
Im Tobin: The captain and crewmembers of the Sewol were on the scene and they were the primary group of people who were responsible for taking action accordingly. Under the government system on large-scale accidents, the KCG was the secondary group to take control of the scene, but it was abortive in its effort. And I attribute such failure to the so-called "group thinking," which is prevalent among the bureaucrats. They, as a group, fall into the trap of collective insensitivity, and do not sense the seriousness of the pain and risk faced by others.
Hong Seong-tae: I was outraged by the fact the captain and his crewmembers told the passengers to stay put before they evacuated from the ferry. I was infuriated further about the KCG's rescue effort, which turned out fake. Several people at the scene say KCG officers clearly witnessed the situation but acted "brainlessly. " The accident could just end up in the sinking of the ferry alone, not claiming the passengers inside. But it grew into a large-scale disaster because the KCG was negligent in their jobs.
What we watched on TV showing the scene live was not the rescue operation but death of the passengers. The KCG, affiliated with the government, even pretended as if Undine Martine Industries, which is specialized in salvage work, was there to rescue people, and prevented other real rescue workers from entering the scene. I have to say they committed manslaughter deliberately.
Shim: There have been many attempts to reorganize the government apparatus at times of power transitions. Such practices took place during the administration of former President Lee Myung-bak and the incumbent President Park Geun-hye. How has such frequent change — scrapping, merging and creating — in governmental structure impacted on the disaster occurrence in the nation?
Jun: The Lee Myung-bak administration's move to scrap certain industries was initially aimed at laying off civil servants. However, the government workers were not affected. Instead, the workers under the ministries that were scrapped or merged into others were relocated to subsidiaries within the existing ministries. The maritime ministry is a good example. Under the Lee administration, the maritime experts lost their chance to show their expertise all of sudden.
The problem is, a number of them are still not assigned with jobs on which they have expertise even after the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries were restored under the Park administration. And that's why the maritime ministry officials had many difficulties in coping with the disaster. They also were incapable of controlling the KCG which is a subsidiary agency under the ministry. I think we, NGO members, as well as the media are responsible for such an outcome because we failed to monitor the corruption within the KCG that has grown over the past fewyears.
Im: I have a different thought. The Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries is under criticism for failing to control the KCG and prevent the disaster, but I think the problem lies in a lack of systematic effort and continuous interest in safety at the government level. Whenever accidents like this one take place, the governments in the past set up an organization to prevent a similar one in the future. As a result, there are several organizations that focus on specific accidents instead of overseeing all possible cases that can threaten the safety of the people in general.
Hong: The Sewol ferry disaster explicitly shows the problem of the former Lee Myung-bak administration. He scrapped the maritime ministry in the name of running the government efficiently. The officials were relocated to subsidiary units at the Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs which he supported to carry out the Four Rivers Restoration Project.
The problem of inefficiency caused by inconsistency in governance still exists under President Park Geun-hye. Although the maritime industry revived under her leadership, her pick, Yoon Jin-suk, as the inaugural maritime minister was a total failure that ignored the public expectation. She turned out to be a completely incompetent, contributing virtually nothing (before she was removed) to safety enhancement. The two conservative presidents exploited their power and such abuse of power underlies in this disaster.
Shim: Alongside the frequent government shakeups, I believe we need to focus on the serious lack of communications and coordination between the government ministries, especially at times of major disasters like Sewol. How serious is the absence of communications among the ministries and how did it affect the disaster?
Jun: The lack of communication among the ministries and other government units can mar the country because each unit struggles to peddle influence over one another as they prefer their interest only, regardless of the people's. With the invisible "partition walls" between those units, the ministries involved in this incident were not able to gather and share information with one another. That the reason why they announced all passengers were rescued hours after the sinking of the ferry was reported.
The negative effect of such partition walls is that a leader who is responsible for overseeing the units can manipulate the system and back up specific units instead of removing the walls. You could see that the KCG, the Navy and its commando unit were all hesitant to begin rescue operations when they arrived on the scene, due to lack of coordinated control by the government.
Im: We should take a separate approach in analyzing why the central emergency command failed to prevent the disaster and lack of communication within the ministries of the central government. Such lack of communication is attributed to the system under which civil servants serve at the same unit once they enter it.
Hong: Lack of communication is the secondary cause of this tragedy. I think the agents from the central intelligence units, such as the National Police Agency, National Intelligence Service and Defense Security Command, were responsible for making incorrect reports to the President Park Geun-hye. The President did not raise a question about the KCG's failure in engaging in relief immediately because she did not know about it.
Shim: I would like to raise the issue of the so-called "Gwanpia" meaning a bureaucratic control of specific industries, which has become one of the reasons for this disaster. How serious is the situation and what suggestions do you have to correct them?
Jun: The government says it will root out such abuse of bureaucratic power to control specific industries and sectors. And that's nonsense considering government officials, who are the ones committing such abuse, are given such a mission to do so. I don't think any officials would be willing to give up their interest. It's just self-contradictory.
One example of such bureaucratic groups is "mofia," which has become a common term in Korea. The word, a combination of the Ministry of Finance, the old name for the Ministry of Strategy and Finance, and the mafia, implies bureaucratic control of the financial sector. They were the top-class applicants in the state-run entrance exams and they continue to exercise their power over others. I think we, civil rights activists, should be the ones monitoring their activities.
Im: I'd say not all bureaucrats are "parasites" just because they want to land a job after they retire as a civil servant. The competition among the civil servants, especially the ranking officials, is severe and a number of them are discouraged from being promoted once they reach a certain level of rankings. In that sense, I'm against scrapping the government entrance exam which is a fair way to select workers with potential to build expertise in their fields.
Hong: The Sewol ferry disaster clearly showed widely spread corruption underlying the world of bureaucracy. The country boasts one of the world's largest economies. Yet, its level of transparency among the government works is comparable to that of the developing countries. Such corruption is extreme among those who are engaged in politics, government administration and court justice. They were supposed to serve the people, but they've been exploiting their power, privatizing the country for their own interest. Justice should be the No. 1 principal in the society and it has not been the case in Korea.
Shim: Do you think it's necessary to unite the existing organizations on public safety? What do you think about the Park Geun-hye administration's move to set up a new emergency management agency under the Prime Minister's Office? Should there be a unitary control tower in charge of overall disaster management as seen in the United States?
Jun: Where there is disaster, there is a corruption lying underneath and those who are involved try to hide it. Instead of setting up a new agency or merging existing ones, we should make clear who'll take responsibility when the disasters take place.
Im: I propose we should learn a lesson from France's emergency management system. The system allows those who are partially responsible for controlling emergency situations to make direct communication with the commander-in-chief to discuss their actions. Itjust impossible for Cheong Wa Dae or an upper-level government organization to oversee emergency situations every second from the beginning. There should be a hot line between Cheong Wa Dae and regional emergency management agencies. That would be ideal.
A different solution could be setting up an emergency management agency in each of the ministry-level organizations for them.
I don't think setting up a new agency under the Prime Minister's Office is a bad idea. But the problem is how long it will last, considering such agencies forget their duties as the government changes.
Hong: The sinking of the ferry did not take place because of the poor system. It occurred because of the incompetence of the conservative governments. The president has too much power to influence government organization, promoting corruption among government officials through political and collusive ties. We can't trust our officials. And the transparency is far behind the OECD-member nations. The citizens should consider setting up an emergency management agency on their own.
Shim: The life cycle of Sewol ferry was extended to 30 years under the former Lee Myung-bak administration in 2009 by revising the regulation on maritime affairs. The Park Geun-hye administration is also pushing to scrap existing regulations. Such seemingly inappropriate extension of expiration period seems to have been a main cause of the mishap. What are your opinions about this?
Jun: The governments advocating neo-liberalism tend to ease regulations, claiming it will improve people's lives. I live in Jamsil in southern Seoul and I have doubts on such claim considering the new Lotte World, which is being constructed, can pose a threat of the safety to military planes that depart from the nearby airbase. The construction of the landmark building was made possible as President Myung-bak gave the green light by easing regulations on building skyscrapers near air bases.
Im: We should be aware of enhancing bureaucrats' interests by easing or enhancing regulations. It's important to see how the regulations will enhance and improve public safety in taking related measures.
Hong: Easing regulation has been beneficial for the mafia-like bureaucrats who are interested in landing a job after their retirement from government organizations. And they were not concerned about public safety threatened by extending the life cycle of boats or nuclear reactors. Such life cycles were determined scientifically and the bureaucrats recklessly eased regulations. I urge President Park Geun-hye to be cautious on easing regulations. Safety regulations should be strengthened with deregulations being implemented to raise efficiency of the national economy.
Hong Seong-tae: I was outraged by the fact the captain and his crewmembers told the passengers to stay put before they evacuated from the ferry. I was infuriated further about the KCG's rescue effort, which turned out fake. Several people at the scene say KCG officers clearly witnessed the situation but acted "brainlessly. " The accident could just end up in the sinking of the ferry alone, not claiming the passengers inside. But it grew into a large-scale disaster because the KCG was negligent in their jobs.
What we watched on TV showing the scene live was not the rescue operation but death of the passengers. The KCG, affiliated with the government, even pretended as if Undine Martine Industries, which is specialized in salvage work, was there to rescue people, and prevented other real rescue workers from entering the scene. I have to say they committed manslaughter deliberately.
Shim: There have been many attempts to reorganize the government apparatus at times of power transitions. Such practices took place during the administration of former President Lee Myung-bak and the incumbent President Park Geun-hye. How has such frequent change — scrapping, merging and creating — in governmental structure impacted on the disaster occurrence in the nation?
Jun: The Lee Myung-bak administration's move to scrap certain industries was initially aimed at laying off civil servants. However, the government workers were not affected. Instead, the workers under the ministries that were scrapped or merged into others were relocated to subsidiaries within the existing ministries. The maritime ministry is a good example. Under the Lee administration, the maritime experts lost their chance to show their expertise all of sudden.
The problem is, a number of them are still not assigned with jobs on which they have expertise even after the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries were restored under the Park administration. And that's why the maritime ministry officials had many difficulties in coping with the disaster. They also were incapable of controlling the KCG which is a subsidiary agency under the ministry. I think we, NGO members, as well as the media are responsible for such an outcome because we failed to monitor the corruption within the KCG that has grown over the past fewyears.
Im: I have a different thought. The Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries is under criticism for failing to control the KCG and prevent the disaster, but I think the problem lies in a lack of systematic effort and continuous interest in safety at the government level. Whenever accidents like this one take place, the governments in the past set up an organization to prevent a similar one in the future. As a result, there are several organizations that focus on specific accidents instead of overseeing all possible cases that can threaten the safety of the people in general.
Hong: The Sewol ferry disaster explicitly shows the problem of the former Lee Myung-bak administration. He scrapped the maritime ministry in the name of running the government efficiently. The officials were relocated to subsidiary units at the Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs which he supported to carry out the Four Rivers Restoration Project.
The problem of inefficiency caused by inconsistency in governance still exists under President Park Geun-hye. Although the maritime industry revived under her leadership, her pick, Yoon Jin-suk, as the inaugural maritime minister was a total failure that ignored the public expectation. She turned out to be a completely incompetent, contributing virtually nothing (before she was removed) to safety enhancement. The two conservative presidents exploited their power and such abuse of power underlies in this disaster.
Shim: Alongside the frequent government shakeups, I believe we need to focus on the serious lack of communications and coordination between the government ministries, especially at times of major disasters like Sewol. How serious is the absence of communications among the ministries and how did it affect the disaster?
Jun: The lack of communication among the ministries and other government units can mar the country because each unit struggles to peddle influence over one another as they prefer their interest only, regardless of the people's. With the invisible "partition walls" between those units, the ministries involved in this incident were not able to gather and share information with one another. That the reason why they announced all passengers were rescued hours after the sinking of the ferry was reported.
The negative effect of such partition walls is that a leader who is responsible for overseeing the units can manipulate the system and back up specific units instead of removing the walls. You could see that the KCG, the Navy and its commando unit were all hesitant to begin rescue operations when they arrived on the scene, due to lack of coordinated control by the government.
Im: We should take a separate approach in analyzing why the central emergency command failed to prevent the disaster and lack of communication within the ministries of the central government. Such lack of communication is attributed to the system under which civil servants serve at the same unit once they enter it.
Hong: Lack of communication is the secondary cause of this tragedy. I think the agents from the central intelligence units, such as the National Police Agency, National Intelligence Service and Defense Security Command, were responsible for making incorrect reports to the President Park Geun-hye. The President did not raise a question about the KCG's failure in engaging in relief immediately because she did not know about it.
Shim: I would like to raise the issue of the so-called "Gwanpia" meaning a bureaucratic control of specific industries, which has become one of the reasons for this disaster. How serious is the situation and what suggestions do you have to correct them?
Jun: The government says it will root out such abuse of bureaucratic power to control specific industries and sectors. And that's nonsense considering government officials, who are the ones committing such abuse, are given such a mission to do so. I don't think any officials would be willing to give up their interest. It's just self-contradictory.
One example of such bureaucratic groups is "mofia," which has become a common term in Korea. The word, a combination of the Ministry of Finance, the old name for the Ministry of Strategy and Finance, and the mafia, implies bureaucratic control of the financial sector. They were the top-class applicants in the state-run entrance exams and they continue to exercise their power over others. I think we, civil rights activists, should be the ones monitoring their activities.
Im: I'd say not all bureaucrats are "parasites" just because they want to land a job after they retire as a civil servant. The competition among the civil servants, especially the ranking officials, is severe and a number of them are discouraged from being promoted once they reach a certain level of rankings. In that sense, I'm against scrapping the government entrance exam which is a fair way to select workers with potential to build expertise in their fields.
Hong: The Sewol ferry disaster clearly showed widely spread corruption underlying the world of bureaucracy. The country boasts one of the world's largest economies. Yet, its level of transparency among the government works is comparable to that of the developing countries. Such corruption is extreme among those who are engaged in politics, government administration and court justice. They were supposed to serve the people, but they've been exploiting their power, privatizing the country for their own interest. Justice should be the No. 1 principal in the society and it has not been the case in Korea.
Shim: Do you think it's necessary to unite the existing organizations on public safety? What do you think about the Park Geun-hye administration's move to set up a new emergency management agency under the Prime Minister's Office? Should there be a unitary control tower in charge of overall disaster management as seen in the United States?
Jun: Where there is disaster, there is a corruption lying underneath and those who are involved try to hide it. Instead of setting up a new agency or merging existing ones, we should make clear who'll take responsibility when the disasters take place.
Im: I propose we should learn a lesson from France's emergency management system. The system allows those who are partially responsible for controlling emergency situations to make direct communication with the commander-in-chief to discuss their actions. Itjust impossible for Cheong Wa Dae or an upper-level government organization to oversee emergency situations every second from the beginning. There should be a hot line between Cheong Wa Dae and regional emergency management agencies. That would be ideal.
A different solution could be setting up an emergency management agency in each of the ministry-level organizations for them.
I don't think setting up a new agency under the Prime Minister's Office is a bad idea. But the problem is how long it will last, considering such agencies forget their duties as the government changes.
Hong: The sinking of the ferry did not take place because of the poor system. It occurred because of the incompetence of the conservative governments. The president has too much power to influence government organization, promoting corruption among government officials through political and collusive ties. We can't trust our officials. And the transparency is far behind the OECD-member nations. The citizens should consider setting up an emergency management agency on their own.
Shim: The life cycle of Sewol ferry was extended to 30 years under the former Lee Myung-bak administration in 2009 by revising the regulation on maritime affairs. The Park Geun-hye administration is also pushing to scrap existing regulations. Such seemingly inappropriate extension of expiration period seems to have been a main cause of the mishap. What are your opinions about this?
Jun: The governments advocating neo-liberalism tend to ease regulations, claiming it will improve people's lives. I live in Jamsil in southern Seoul and I have doubts on such claim considering the new Lotte World, which is being constructed, can pose a threat of the safety to military planes that depart from the nearby airbase. The construction of the landmark building was made possible as President Myung-bak gave the green light by easing regulations on building skyscrapers near air bases.
Im: We should be aware of enhancing bureaucrats' interests by easing or enhancing regulations. It's important to see how the regulations will enhance and improve public safety in taking related measures.
Hong: Easing regulation has been beneficial for the mafia-like bureaucrats who are interested in landing a job after their retirement from government organizations. And they were not concerned about public safety threatened by extending the life cycle of boats or nuclear reactors. Such life cycles were determined scientifically and the bureaucrats recklessly eased regulations. I urge President Park Geun-hye to be cautious on easing regulations. Safety regulations should be strengthened with deregulations being implemented to raise efficiency of the national economy.