A crew member who sank after boarding 72 boats in the sea. Provided by the Bereaved Family Council
On January 23, 1980, at 5:20 a.m., 4km east of Geojin-eup, Goseong-gun, Gangwon-do, the northernmost tip of the east coast. Nine police officers and eight police officers were on board, 72 60t-class maritime patrol boats and 200t-class patrol ship 207 collided. It was an accident caused by a mistaken route due to bad weather and failure of 72 boats. 72 boats sank, and all 17 crew members were also missing. These days, it was an accident that would decorate the news every day, but this case was quietly’handled’. The new military ministry, which had only been in power for less than a month after taking power in the December 12 military revolt in 1979, did not want the accident to be widely known to the public. He was neglected by newspapers and broadcasts under press control. The Sewol ferry disaster that took place 34 years later attracted attention, and in 2019, 72 tablets were found sitting in the sea, but that was the end.
■ The ’72 incidents’ covered over like a military operation
When 72 boats of the sea police sank, the authorities held a ceremony without a carcass in less than a week. The maritime search was not finished properly. The bereaved families were thoroughly separated. Upon hearing the news of the sinking, bereaved families from across the country were monitored to prevent them from meeting each other. A police officer in charge was assigned to each bereaved family, and accommodation was also assigned separately. The police followed each of the bereaved families until they returned home. It is presumed that the intention was to block group actions such as finding out the truth and demanding punishment for the person in charge. Families had to calm themselves down. Kang Taek-yoon, vice chairman of the’Haekyung 72 Towns Bereaved Family Council’, who lost his elder brother (Kang Cheol-gu, then 26 years old) as a policeman at the time, said, “My father only said,’If the situation improves so that I will have no spare time if I have even rescued my brother’s carcass.’ Perhaps because of it, he died of cirrhosis. My mother, who was eighty-four years old, said, “I was a high school student at the time, but I was afraid of Chun Doo-Hwan, so I couldn’t hear a proper explanation. said. Kim Chang-gon (69), the older brother of Captain Kim Jong-gon, who was a 72-piece suit (captain), said, “It was unfair to my brother, who had a son and two daughters. My brother-in-law suffered a lot because he lost his husband and raised three young nephews alone.” The 72 maritime affairs, which were buried in everyone’s memories, began to be gradually known to the world after the Sewol ferry disaster in 2014. When the hull of the Sewol ferry was lifted in 2017, the need to search and lift 72 boats began to be mentioned. At the audit of the Blue House in November 2018,’What is your position on the search for 72 boats and salvage?’ at the time, Lee Cheol-gyu (Donghae, Samcheok) and Lee Yang-soo (Sokcho, Goseong, Yangyang) of the Liberal Republic of Korea at the time asked, “(Search And salvage) is the responsibility of the state. Even if 38 years have passed, I don’t think the pain for the family will be reduced.” Byeong-joo Cho, chairman of the Bereaved Family Council, said, “The bereaved families have been buried their whole lives in their hearts without properly requesting to find or salvage 72 boats that have been sunk. Then, a voice was raised saying that the minimum courtesy should be given to the 72-boat crew members who died while working for the country with the salvation of the Sewol ferry.”
Sokcho Seaview found 72 tablets in the sea in April 2019. The picture shows 72 boats checked through video exploration equipment. Provided by Korea Institute of Ocean Science and Technology
■ I waited for 39 years… Found in a month of search
In January 2019, after mentioning in the State Administration, the Coast Guard began preparing for the search, such as holding a search technology advisory meeting with experts. Between March 4 and 27 of the same year, the first search was conducted by putting a marine submarine support ship (1200t class) in a 4.8km radius area centering on where 72 boats were believed to have sunk. Subsequently, from the 28th, the Korea Institute of Maritime Science and Technology’s marine survey vessel Ieodo-ho (357t) was put in, and a second check was conducted on about 40 suspicious points identified by the coastal submarine. Eventually, on April 2, it was revealed that the hull, estimated to be 72 boats, was found. An old ship found in the sea at a depth of 105m, only 643m north of the estimated sinking point, was covered with rust and waste webs. However, the round shape of the stern part, the lower shield, and the engine cover matched 72 tablets. The hull size (24m long and 5m wide) was the same as 72 boats. Vice Chairman Kang Taek-yoon said, “The 72 boats and the crew have been waiting for a rescue aid for 39 years, just 600 meters from the sinking site. When I heard the news that I had found the hull, I cried with my mother, saying,’I’m sorry for being too late.’”
The bereaved families who attended the exploration briefing and the offering ceremony held at the sea of the accident in March 2019 are looking at the spreading screen with the list of the dead. yunhap news
■ Family members “immediately lifted”… Budget barrier
But that was it. The bereaved families expected quick retrieval of the remains and the hull salvage, but the Coast Guard repeatedly answered “Please wait” for reasons such as “securing budget”. In May of last year, after more than a year after the discovery of 72 tablets, the coast guard entrusted research services such as whether 72 tablets could be salvaged and how much it would cost. The Coast Guard explained that it took more than a year to apply for a budget for research service (190 million won) and pass the National Assembly. However, it is not known when the salvage will take place. Korea Maritime University predicted that it would cost 4 billion won for on-site surveys to determine whether or not it is possible, and up to 20.5 billion won for actual salvage. The Ministry of Strategy and Finance cut the salvage budget entirely in the 2021 budget, and reflected only the 4.5 billion won on-site survey budget and handed it over to the National Assembly. The National Assembly’s Agriculture, Forestry, Livestock, Food, Ocean and Fisheries Committee decided it was necessary to recover the remains of 17 missing crew members and to lift the hull, and decided to increase the budget of 20.5 billion won in November last year, but it was reduced in full during the resolution process of the Special Committee on Budget and Settlement and the plenary session.
72 boats in the sea view. Provided by the Bereaved Family Council
The bereaved families are protesting that the government is trying to find the remains of the dead in the demilitarized zone, and that it is in vain to find the dead. Byeong-joo Cho, chairman of the Bereaved Family Council, said, “The 72-jeong deputy members are not civilian ships, but are national merit who died during the maritime guard. Regardless of the number or cost, please lift them up and return them to the family.” The secretary of the Park Kwang-hoe council said, “In a professional lifting company, 72 boats are small, so if you install a crane at the sinking point and then a diver goes down to the sea floor and installs a net under the hull, it can be sufficiently lifted without loss of harm. “We have to stop taking time and leave the field survey to a specialized lifting company to lift 72 tablets as soon as possible.” Regarding this, the head of the Search and Rescue Office of the Donghae Regional Maritime Police Agency for steelmaking said, “We conducted an estimate survey for salvage specialists in advance, but few places gave an answer. This is because there is no relevant information such as whether or not it is possible to salvage. In order to safely lift the hull and remains, field investigations must be carried out in advance,” he said. “We plan to apply for the field investigation budget again in the second half of 2021 (2022 budget plan).” By Park Soo-hyuk, staff reporter [email protected]