President Park Geun-hye said to the Korean people on April 29 that she is sorry for the tragic sinking of the Sewol and that she has a heavy heart for the many precious lives that have been taken by the disaster.

At a cabinet meeting at Cheong Wa Dae, President Park said, “I’d like to express my deepest condolences to the victims who were sacrificed in this accident. I’d like to console all of you who are saddened and who are suffering such pain for having lost beloved family members, relatives and friends. This tragic accident has left the hearts of the parents particularly scarred, as it has taken the lives of many young students.”

“I so much regret that the disaster took place due to a failing to address the deep-rooted evils of the past. It is so regrettable that this administration didn't make stronger efforts beforehand to correct such vices, wrongs and abnormal practices,” said the president.

“This time, however, we will correct the problems that have been existing for so long and we will build a foundation for a new country, regaining the trust of the people and allowing people to feel secure in their lives,” President Park said.

“We should never repeat the vicious cycle of recurring, similar disasters and only taking measures afterward. It is high time we create a completely new safety system in Korea,” she added. President Park urged her administration to set up fundamental, thorough safety measures, to rebuild, from the ground up, a new country.





She said that her administration should cut the pattern of corruption that is caused by the "chronic collectivism" of Korean society. “Corrupt relationships between businesses and related government organizations have existed for many years, not only in the shipping industry, but also in other sectors. We need to fundamentally reform the related systems by introducing necessary measures, such as closing the rotating door where retired public servants get promoted in the private industry they used to oversee,” said the president.

“I will strongly push ahead reform in public circles. The government needs to reveal and solve in an acceptable manner all deep-rooted evils in our bureaucratic society so that we can completely remove the shameful labels 'mafia bureaucrats' and 'iron rice bowl' from our vocabulary,” she said.

President Park ordered her cabinet members to come up with definite reform measures in terms of personnel, such as recruiting, position management, assessment and compensation, while saying that the monopolistic recruitment scheme and corrupt ties from the past exist in all government bodies, not just one organization.

In order to prevent the reoccurrence of similar catastrophes, President Park said that she would create a new government organization focused on national safety. Under the authority of the Prime Minister’s Office, the new body would act as the control tower and take charge of and coordinate any national-level, large scale disaster relief plans. She instructed her cabinet members to discuss the new government organization with the National Assembly as soon as possible.

By Wi Tack-whan, Yoon Sojung
Korea.net Staff Writers
whan23@korea.kr