Every April, as the streets of South Korea are carpeted with the delicate pink petals of falling cherry blossoms, Madam Kim Soon-sil feels an unbearable sadness.
The pink flowers remind her of her daily routine 10 years ago, when she would walk her 17-yearold daughter Jin Yun-hee home from school and they would chat about the latter's day at school.
It was on such a spring day on April 16, 2014, that Madam Kim lost Yun-hee in the Sewol ferry tragedy, in which 304 out of 476 passengers and crew died when the vessel capsized off Jindo island in the country's south-west.
Most of the victims were Yunhee's schoolmates from Danwon High School in Ansan city, who were on a school trip to the resort island of Jeju. The students were instructed to stay put in their cabins as the ferry was sinking, and they died waiting for the rescue that never came.
Ten years on, family members of the Sewol victims like Madam Kim are still grieving for the lost children. They want answers and are pushing for a formal apology from the government before time fades memories.
Mr Kim Jong-gi, whose 18-yearold daughter was among the victims, told foreign media at a press conference on April 15: "We are worried about the Sewol ferry memories being erased before the truth is revealed." His daughter Kim Soo-jin was the youngest of three girls.
Results of investigations, released in 2018, failed to determine the cause of the sinking, although factors such as illegal modifications to the vessel, overloading of cargo by three times the limit and human error likely contributed to the sinking, according to the probe.
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة April 16, 2024 من The Straits Times.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 8500 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك ? تسجيل الدخول
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة April 16, 2024 من The Straits Times.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 8500 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك? تسجيل الدخول
THOMPSON BLESSED AND GRATEFUL
Major champ and ex-world No. 4 retiring but may still play in select LPGA events
UNITED'S LOSS, DORTMUND'S GAIN
Sancho can show at Wembley his rebound stems from the Red Devils’ dysfunction
Duplantis almost rewrites his own world best
Reigning Olympic and world champion Armand Duplantis is feeling \"confident\" after clearing 6 metres and narrowly missed a world-record attempt at the Golden Spike athletics meet in the Czech Republic on May 28.
PRIDE OF T-WOLVES SURVIVES
Edwards stays aggressive, Minnesota avoid sweep with 105-100 road win over Dallas
OCBC to grow tech capabilities, office space in Greater China
$260m investment to cater to businesses growing their footprint in South-east Asia
Musk offers Tesla factory tours to 15 shareholders who vote on his pay plan
Billionaire Elon Musk is offering tours of Tesla's factory in June to 15 shareholders who vote on his US$56 billion (S$75.5 billion) pay package, the latest effort by the electric vehicle maker to rally votes for the compensation after a court struck it down.
GIC excited by prospects in Japan after governance reforms
S’pore wealth fund sees opportunities to help firms there grow, boost returns
BNPL to still account for 2% of local spending by 2027: Report
It finds Gen Zers, young millennials among bigger users of buy now, pay later’ method
Top FIX executive sentenced to 7! years in prison
Ryan Salame, a top executive at collapsed cryptocurrency exchange FTX, was sentenced to 71/2 years in prison on May 28, making him the first of Sam BankmanFried's circle of advisers at FTX to receive prison time.
Hello Kitty, S’pore Cable Car jointly marking 50th birthdays
Partnership features cabins with designs of Japanese icon to woo local and regional fans