General Society: Society: News: Hankyoreh

Choi Won-il, former captain of the Cheonan ship, is interviewing at a cafe in the Yongsan War Memorial in Seoul on the morning of the 18th. Senior Reporter Lee Jeong-yong [email protected]

The tragedy is not completed in one day. At 9:22 p.m. on March 26, 2010, the Cheonan incident, which killed 46 people and changed the lives of 58 survivors, has been drifting through Korean society for 11 years without finishing the sad story. The interpretation of the Cheonan incident was extremely divided according to ideology, and interest in survivors fluctuated according to the political landscape. Meanwhile, the fact that there was a person on the boat that day was forgotten. And is in 2018 ‘Cheonan, the pain of those who survived’ Through a planning article, we reported that the survivors of the Cheonan ship are breathing around us and that they are still suffering. Choi Kwang-soo (the sergeant at the time of the incident), who went to France because there was no place to stand in Korean society, implied the reason for the pain by saying, “Conservatives (politically) used the conservatives and turned away from progress.” Two years after the report, another one aboard the ship that day left the military and returned to society ahead of the 11th cycle of the Cheonan. Choi Won-il (53) is a former captain of the Cheonan Ship. He, who was discharged on the 28th of last month, met at a café at the War Memorial in Yongsan-gu, Seoul on the 18th, and said, “I’ve gotten used to cold and cold, but I’m afraid our society is trying to forget the Cheonan.” This is the first time that Former Captain Choi has conducted a face-to-face interview with the media since 2013. He firmly believes that the Cheonan was sunk in a North Korean attack. I was convinced that it was “not true” about the numerous suspicions surrounding the Cheonan incident, including a stranding, collision with an Israeli submarine, and an internal explosion. However, he pointed out that the responsibility for which the suspicion was raised was due to the wrong response of the Lee Myung-bak administration at the time. Former Captain Choi said, “The first reaction of the Blue House after the Cheonan incident was that the possibility of a North Korean attack was very low. President Lee Myung-bak said,’I know because I made a boat, but a boat can be broken more easily than I thought’. When it first started like this, the Minister of Defense noticed the Blue House, and the Chief of Staff noticed the minister, and no one could claim the possibility of an attack on North Korea.” Former Captain Choi believes that the case is eventually distorted because of’politics’. He added a clue that he was’careful’, but responded to the reaction of the Blue House at the time, “(July 11, 2008) As tourists were shot at Mt. Geumgang and the inter-Korean crisis continued, the approval rating of the president fell (August 2009). He said, “I know that I had been discussing the inter-Korean summit by making close contact with the North Korean condolences who came to meet the death of the president.” He said, “I think that I hated to admit that there was an attack from North Korea.” He suspects that the regime tried to use the Cheonan case for election. He believes that the use of the Cheonan for elections amplified the controversy. “On June 2, 2010 there was a local election. As the Cheonan case became the subject of political dispute, the regime quickly announced the results of the investigation on May 20th (Joint Civil-Military Investigation Group) and took action on ‘5·24′. A week before the election, this behavior was obviously intent. Therefore, even more opposition camps were unable to admit (results of the investigation).” The survivors of the Cheonan ship were completely alienated in the midst of intense conflict. Former Captain Choi said, “The conservative camp tried to use me and the progressive camp turned away.” “If it’s conservative, shouldn’t it be said that we should not use the Cheonan, and we should invest a budget to strengthen our defense so that this tragedy will not happen again? He continued, “(Political authorities and the media) take pictures with surviving soldiers in March, and in April, they feel sorrowful. On Memorial Day, it flashes for a while and then it repeats again. This is why the crew is exhausted, and even if someone reaches out, they can’t catch it.” Consistent cold service in the army also drove the surviving soldiers to the brink. “You were rewarded only when the captain died”, “I was asleep and suffered”, “The children who have lived must know how to be embarrassed”, “Won-il Choi is hiding”… . These are the words that the 58 people who survived the Cheonan had to hear. Former Captain Choi still cannot forget the words of General Han immediately after the Cheonan. He said to former Captain Choi, “Because of you, our department works overtime every day. (During the 2nd Yeonpyeong Sea War) Chamsuri 357 also cleaned the ship (to a surviving soldier). I know you’re lucky. At the Naval Education Command in Jinhae, Gyeongsangnam-do, which was issued in December 2011, a year and a half after the Cheonan incident, he always sat in a corner of a restaurant and ate. Behind my back, I heard stories such as “I can’t play golf and it’s hard because of the kids in Cheonan,” and “I can’t drink properly and what is this?” Former Captain Choi said, “Even I, who was the captain, lived without being neglected, but what about the crew.” Currently, there are 24 active workers in the military, and even though they want to go to the’West Sea Protection Day’ (4th Friday in March), they are noticing because their work is busy. “It would be nice if you were considerate so that even one car could be chartered.”

Choi Won-il, former captain of the Cheonan ship, is interviewing at a cafe in the Yongsan War Memorial in Seoul on the morning of the 18th. Senior Reporter Lee Jeong-yong [email protected]

He thinks that there are things the state can do to the survivors who have suffered for 11 years as their bodies and minds are soaked in the cold waters of the sea that day. Former Captain Choi said, “The recognition of merit has been not working well, but the Moon Jae-in administration is gradually increasing it. However, it would be better to review a little more prospectively and register all the surviving soldiers of the Cheonan as merit. The actual trauma is so severe that the crew members who are hiding cannot even contact you. The worse the condition is due to the serious aftereffects of the incident, the more it is possible to apply for a person of merit. In this case, I think that the first thing the country comes up with is the veterans and security.” He also pointed out the problem of the bonus pension that soldiers pay when they retire after becoming disabled due to illness or injury. It is said that the survivors of the Cheonan ship did not receive information about the disability pension system when they were discharged. Former Captain Choi said, “I only knew last year that there is a disability pension system. Seven surviving soldiers applied, but the results were all different. Some people did it retroactively for the past two years, while others didn’t do it at all. It doesn’t seem to be fair either.”
2018 year <한겨레> Reportedly, Sergeant Moon Young-wook was omitted from the registration of national merit because there was no application from an immediate family member among the 46 warriors of the Cheonan ship.What was revealed in these eight years was a symbolic scene showing the embarrassing face of Korean society who only looked at the Cheonan incident politically. Former Captain Choi said, “Sergeant Moon worked in the room right next to me. A week before the Cheonan incident, I had a drink with the crew, and it is still good to remember that Sergeant Moon said’I think he is the father’. “The omission of Sergeant Moon’s merit is a case that clearly shows the country’s indifference. All. I hope you will pay more attention to the young people who passed away while protecting the country.” He hoped that the West Sea Protection Day, held on the fourth Friday of March, when the Cheonan incident took place, will also be a day of remembrance and memory, not a place of politics. Former Captain Choi said, “Isn’t the Day of the West Sea Protection that the bereaved families and surviving soldiers should become the main characters? However, attention is always focused on the politicians who attend this place and becomes the object of political dispute. Last year, the surviving soldiers had to sit in the back corner, and they couldn’t do the wreath properly.” “This event, before the election, was also used for the benefit of their own camp and was a place to sincerely commemorate the 46 soldiers. I’m going to see if I’ll make it.” Ahead of the war, several conservative organizations have received a call to join us. However, former Captain Choi rejected all of these offers. “I am not on the side of the regime, on the side of conservative or progressive. He said, “It is on the side of the surviving family and the surviving soldiers,” he said. He believes that it is a solid truth that the Cheonan was sunk by North Korean attacks. He thought extreme many times, but he thought he was proof of himself and said, “I have to survive,” he said, and he made up his will in life. However, I hoped that the Cheonan incident would not divide the people into two. Former Captain Choi said, “I hope that if you believe in the bombing and do not believe it, you will no longer make it the target of political strife. It would be nice if I could only think about security and think about how to better protect the country.” Finally, I asked if there was anything I wanted to say. “I don’t know anything else, but I hope the insults against the soldiers of the Cheonan will not be repeated. Even at this moment, I want you to remember that there are Cheonan surviving soldiers who regret and regret why I came back alive while suffering on land aboard a ship in the sea.” During the two-hour interview, the voice of the former Captain Choi, who couldn’t get away from the hard soldier’s tone, trembled. By Jung Hwan-bong and Jang Pil-soo, staff reporter [email protected] ▶Shortcut: <한겨레> <한겨레21> ‘Cheonan, the pain of those who survived’ special series

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