[BITList] Part 1 -= Korean Ferry Disaster

[Michael Feltham]

Begin forwarded message:

> Senior shipping official nabbed 
> The prosecution arrested a senior official of the Korea Shipping Association (KSA), Wednesday, on charges of having taken bribes, as it widens its investigation into the sinking of the ferry Sewol. The official surnamed Goh is suspected of having received tens of millions of won from the Korean Register of Shipping (KRS) and insurance experts who evaluate damage caused by maritime accidents. The KSA, an interest group for shipping companies, collects insurance premiums from shipping companies and makes payments for accidents. 
> Koh is accused of having accepted requests for excessive payments in return for substantial kickbacks from assessors and the KRS, which issues related documents. The KSA paid out a total of 60 billion won last year and prosecutors suspect that a part of that was returned to high-level officials as bribes. The prosecution has already raided the head office of the KSA in Seoul and its Incheon office, and arrested two other officials. The investigation is expected to be expanded to other workers at the organization. 
> “As far as I know, prosecutors are also checking on suspicions that they had lobbied government officials and politicians,” a source who is familiar with the matter said on condition of anonymity. Goh entered the KSA in 1989 and was made its business department head in 2012. A joint investigation team is looking into all aspects of the shipping industry following the Sewol tragedy in which casualties are feared to top 300 after the ferry capsized on April 16. 
> Critics say that deep-rooted collusion between shipping firms, and the KSA and KRS as well as corrupt government officials caused Korea’s worst maritime disaster in two decades. President Park Geun-hye vowed to impose reforms to weed out long-lasting irregularities in the shipping industry, brought to light after the accident. The KSA is a lobby group for domestic shipping companies while the KRS is a ship classification association. They were established as non-profit organizations but have faced accusations that they only looked out for their own interests. Retired officials of the maritime ministry have been appointed as their heads and they failed to properly monitor irregularities at shipping companies. Source: Korea Times 

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