Editorial

When Former President Park Geun-hye returned to her private home after her impeachment, her words on the current situation were delivered through her former spokesperson. What impressed people most among her words was the following: “It may take time, but I have faith that the truth will come to light eventually.”
What kind of truth is she talking about? Does she really hope for the TRUTH to reveal itself? If so, then why did she respond to suspicions regarding the Sewol ferry disaster the way she did?

The ousted president insisted that she had done her duty as president during the disaster. This is the truth alleged by her. But this truth is nearly impossible to be called “the truth.” Although the court rejected the notion that Park should be removed for failing to fulfill her obligations when the ferry sank; they also pinpointed Park’s serious misconduct on April 16, 2014.

Park’s lawyers said in the impeachment trial that the nation’s impeached leader figured the situation had been resolved after receiving incorrect reports saying all the passengers of the ferry were saved, at 1:07 p.m. and 1:13 p.m. on the day of the disaster. Therefore, Park only realized the gravity of the situation at 3 p.m., they added.

But the court countered this argument, saying, “President Park could have recognized the seriousness of the situation by 10 a.m. at the latest if she had tried.”

Here is a mystery. Before she was notified of the reports in the afternoon, we do not know why she was not aware of the severity in the morning when the first report on the occurrence of the disaster was sent to her.

The court also did not accept the claim that Park called the chief of Coast Guard at 10:30 a.m. and gave him necessary instructions including deploying commandos. “Since the chief had already ordered the deployment of commandos at 9:53 a.m., Park could not have directed the chief to do the same thing if she had really spoken with the chief,” the court pointed out.

Here is another mystery. Did she really perform her duty to protect the lives of citizens?

Regarding the truth of what she did on the day of the disaster, Park is the one who kept the truth from coming to light. The truth that she mentioned must be a far cry from what we expect.

The Argus wants to say one sentence to Park Geun-hye who talked about the truth. It may sound similar to her words but actually it has a completely different meaning. The Truth Does Not Sink.


Lee Jae-won
Editor-in-Chief

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