Sewol Tragedy: SoKor's wanted fugitive - where is he?

Yoo Byung Eun, South Korea's most wanted fugitive who was allegedly to have ties to the operator of the sunken Sewol ferry, has eluded arrest for several weeks, leaving authorities having their head scratching where are the possible whereabouts of the wealthy Korean now targeted by the law. Because of his reluctance to appear in public; Byung-Eun is labeled as the "millionaire without a face". His children's whereabouts were also unknown.

Earlier this week, South Korean authorities put a bounty on Byung Eun's head, saying that the reward for information for the capture of this fugitive businessman has been raised by almost half a million dollars and about a hundred thousand dollars for the whereabouts of his eldest son.

Will justice prevail? It's a long road until South Koreans, mostly victims of the deadly maritime disaster, will speak up for the truth.

Story: http://www.cnn.com/2014/05/28/world/asia/sewol-yoo-manhunt/

Sewol Tragedy: Owner defied orders

Yoo Byung-eun, the de-facto owner of the sunken Sewol ferry, has once again defied orders to come in for questioning over his possible involvement in last month's maritime disaster. The prosecutors are guessing if the owner might smuggle himself out on Saturday in a believer's car, a religious retreat and farming firms complex that Yoo's family owns in the Gyeonggi-Do province. They suspect that Yoo hides out at his followers home in Seoul and the guessing comes from traces of telephone communications between him and his followers. He's believed to have a dozen of borrowed phones.

Source: Arirang Radio

Sewol Tragedy: Questioning the owner's alleged corruption by his family

Prosecutors said that they will summon Yoo Byung-eun, the suspected owner of the sunken Sewol ferry's operator, Chonghaejin Marine Co., later this week for questioning over the alleged corruption by the owner's family. He's been told to show up at the Incheon District Prosecutors' Office by Friday, 10:00 am Korean Standard Time.

Source: Arirang Radio

Sewol Tragedy: Three members named martyrs

Three crew members of the Sewol ferry that submerged last month were recognized as "martyrs". All were part-time members - including an engaged couple - who could have escaped but remained in the ferry to help trapped passengers. Those members were Kim Ki-Woong (age 28), Jung Hyun-Seon (also age 28), and Park Ji-young (age 21). These members' heroic sacrifices stood in stark contrast to the captain and most of the crew who were abandoned ship on the day of the sinking.

So far, the death toll is 275 while 29 people remained missing because search and rescue efforts remained hampered by bad weather.

Sewol Tragedy: Revisions on the missing and rescued people

Continuing on the latest updates on the sunken Sewol ferry disaster at the southwestern coast of South Korea, the search for the missing 35 people still goes on despite the weather's continue to get even worse. As of now, the death toll from the Sewol tragedy is currently at 269. The Coast Guard revised the number of the missing people from 33 to 35 because there are two Chinese added to the list after reviewing through their credit card records. The number of people rescued has also been revised from 174 to 172 because one person is listed under two different names and the other was reported in error.

Source: Arirang Radio

Sewol Tragedy: Death toll now 260

Continuing on the Sewol Tragedy story; the official death toll from the submerged ferry has now risen to 260 with 42 people remained missing so far. The divers completed the initial search of 61 compartments out of 64, where most of the passengers are expected to be found. The rescue team plans to expand the search to the ferry's cargo compartments as well as the first and second floor of the decks beginning on the 15th of May, 2014, if all the bodies are not recovered until then.

Source: Arirang Radio

Sewol Tragedy: Death toll now 226

The death toll from the Sewol ferry tragedy has now risen to 226 with 76 people remained missing in the disaster zone. South Korean president Park Geun-hye says that it is the duty of the president to officially apologize for the most tragic maritime disaster in South Korea and she will do everything she can to ensure that the missing passengers are found and once again pledged for an overhaul of the nation's disaster response system.

Sewol Tragedy: Death toll now 213

As of now, the death toll from the Sewol ferry tragedy is now 213 while 89 people remained missing in the disaster zone. As the investigation on the cause continues, authorities arrested two senior employees of the Chonghaejin Marine Company for negligence. They were accused for allowing the ferry to be renovated so it could hold more cargo, knowing that it was dangerous. Perhaps excessive cargo and weight on board the ferry is seen as one of the main causes of the sinking of the Sewol ferry but the investigation continues...

Source: Arirang Radio

Sewol Tragedy: KGC Commissioner General apologized for the casualties

As of now, the death toll from the Sewol tragedy still at 212 while 90 people remained missing in the disaster zone. Earlier, Kim Suk-Kyoon, the commissioner general of the Korean Coast Guard, apologized for the agony the sinking of the Sewol ferry has caused for the relatives of the victims during a press conference in Jindo island. He expressed his deep responsibility for the inefficient and late rescue efforts and he also said that he will push for clear answers to the criminal investigations, including a shocking truth regarding rescue operations in the early days following the ferry sinking.

Source: Arirang Radio

Sewol Tragedy: 12 more bodies retrieved

Continuing on the Sewol Tragedy, rescue workers retrieved 12 more bodies from the sunken Sewol ferry despite the bad weather for the almost hundred missing passengers. Now, the death toll from the Sewol tragedy has risen to 205 while 97 remained missing in the disaster zone according to the Coast Guard. After four more bodies recovered, the Coast Guard, Navy, and civilian divers continue their search in the sunken Sewol ferry in the southwestern island of Jindo.

Source: Arirang Radio

Sewol Tragedy: Confiscation of documents

It's been two weeks since the sinking of the Sewol ferry, known as the worst maritime disaster in South Korean history, and as the investigation on what went wrong continues, a joint investigation team confiscated some of the documents and recordings from the day the Sewol ferry sank from the local Coast Guard in Mokpo city to look whether officials properly handled the disaster at the first stage. They've retrieved the first distress call from an 18-year-old boy, who was on a field trip with more than 300 other students and teachers, who dialed the South Korean emergency number 119, which put him through to the Coast Guard and asked for help.

Source: Arirang Radio

Sewol Tragedy: 12 days has passed...

It's been 12 days has passed since the Sewol ferry tragedy and as the search and rescue operations continues, the investigation to the cause of the submerge is starting to unravel.

The family of Yoo Byung-eon, the real owner of the ferry company, have been placed on travel ban by the prosecutors as they're looking into whether the family evade taxes, embezzled funds or made illegal foreign exchange trades.

Prosecutors raided four branches of an accounting firm that worked for the ferry operator and is suspected of having slush funds and also worked with the operator's affiliates, which are controlled by Yoo Byung-eon. They suspect that the firm in question helped forged audit reports for Yoo's companies.

Source: Arirang Radio

Sewol Tragedy: Death toll 187, 115 missing

As of 3:00PM Korean Standard Time, the confirmed death toll from the Sewol ferry tragedy is 187 while 115 people remained unaccounted for, which remains unchanged since the early hours of the search and rescue operation in the disaster zone. The search and rescue operation in the disaster zone has been hampered due to bad weather, strong currents, and high waves. It's been 11 days since the ferry capsized, marking as one of the worst maritime disasters in South Korean history, but the Coast Guard, Navy, and civilian divers continued their efforts on the third and fourth deck of the sunken Sewol ferry.

Source: Arirang Radio

Sewol Tragedy: Investigation continues

Authorities continue investigating what exactly happened on the day the Sewol ferry submerged and who's behind this. As of now, all 15 crew members that were rescued from the disaster zone especially the captain of the ferry, Lee Joon-seok, who escaped the ferry, WILL face criminal charges. Eleven crew members have already been charged with homicide as well as the violation of South Korea's maritime law while the remaining four crew members have yet to be investigated as suspects.

Now, the investigation escalates to new levels as a special investigation team is looking into some of the probable causes of the Sewol ferry's abnormalities. The prosecutors found out that Yoo Byung-eon, the owner of the operator of the Sewol ferry, and his family own at LEAST three paper companies but there could be more to this...

Sewol Tragedy: Search and rescue update as of now...

So far, the search and rescue operation on the sunken Sewol ferry continues despite the stronger currents in the area where the tragedy occurred. Based on reports, the death toll has been maintained from 185 with 117 people remain unknown. The divers continue their search on the fourth level of the ferry especially in the center where the cabins of the students from Danwon High School were located.

Officials told that the maritime minister and the coast guard chief will stay on the site for further operations and assist the relatives of the victims.

Source: Arirang Radio