South Korea votes to disband coast guard in wake of ferry disaster
By 2-to-1 margin, votes passes to transfer responsibilities to National Police Agency
South Korea's National Assembly on Friday approved plans to disband the coast guard in the wake of criticism over its failure to rescue hundreds of passengers during the sinking of a ferry in April.
Authorities say swifter, more aggressive action by the coast guard in the initial stage of sinking could have saved more lives. The sinking, one of the country's deadliest disasters in decades, killed more than 300 people, mostly teenage students travelling to a resort island for a school trip.
On Friday, South Korean lawmakers passed in a 146-71 vote the plan to transfer the coast guard's responsibilities to the National Police Agency and a new broader safety agency to be established. Thirty-two lawmakers abstained from the floor vote broadcast by a legislature-run website.
The safety agency will also take over the National Emergency Management Agency and some responsibilities held by the Ministry of Security and Public Administration, according to officials at the National Assembly and the public administration ministry. The safety agency's creation is aimed at establishing a comprehensive, swift response system to future disasters, they said.
The restructuring plan will come into force once President Park Geun-hye and her Cabinet Council endorse it in a process widely considered as formality. In May, Park announced the plans to disband the coast guard, calling its rescue work a failure.
Authorities blame overloading of cargo, improper storage, untimely rescue efforts and other negligence for the disaster. Criticism of the coast guard centres on the questions of why its boat was late on the scene and why rescuers didn't enter the sinking ship to rescue passengers trapped inside. The coast guard has said the ship was listing too far for its officers to safely enter when they arrived.
The coast guard, founded in 1953, only became an independent organization in 1996. It was previously part of the country's police agency. One big coast guard responsibility is dealing with Chinese fishermen illegally operating in South Korean waters. The new safety agency would take over those duties.