Sewol probe sees raid of Coast Guard

Korean prosecutors on Friday raided the Korea Coast Guard headquarters and some regional offices as part of its ongoing probe into the 2014 Sewol ferry sinking, one of the country’s worst maritime disasters that killed more than 300.

A special unit tasked with the probe launched the raid at around 10 a.m. at the Korea Coast Guard headquarters, as well as regional units that oversee the Western Coast and Mokpo, a prosecution official said without elaborating further. The raid is part of a widening probe into the Sewol disaster by the special unit that kicked off earlier this month. The state prosecution launched the team that is tasked with determining the exact cause of the fatal incident and probing any mishandling of the rescue operations by the former conservative administration.

More than five years have passed since the tragedy, but many people still believe the truth behind it and the government’s search-and-rescue operations at that time have yet to be found. In late October, the Special Commission on Social Disaster Investigation, an independent inquiry panel, criticized the government’s delayed response in rescuing victims.

Yonhap