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By Seok Jin-hwan, Blue House correspondent

On May 16, President Park Geun-hye said she thinks it is necessary to pass a special law and assign a special prosecutor to investigate the tragic sinking of the Sewol.

That day, one month after the Sewol sunk, Park met with a 17-person delegation from the Countermeasures Committee for Victims, Missing Passengers, and Survivors in the Sewol Ferry Disaster. Responding to the families’ demands for the passage of a special act to uncover the truth, Park said that she agreed on the necessity of a special law and also that a special prosecutor should be appointed, the Blue House said.

In the transcript that the Blue House released on May 16, Park stated that the government is preparing comprehensive measures for fact-finding and for stamping out corruption among public officials. “I said that we will conduct a parliamentary investigation, we are also doing an investigation, and there is the Anti-Corruption Act (also known as the Kim Young-ran Act),” Park said.

“I would like to apologize once more for the areas in which the government has been inadequate,” Park said during the meeting. This is the first time that Park herself has met the families of the victims of the accident to apologize.

After the meeting, committee spokesperson Yoo Kyung-geun held a press conference. “When we said that the president should be included in the scope of the fact-finding investigation, we didn’t mean that the president has to be investigated, but rather that no one should be immune from the investigation, no matter how high their position. We asked the president what she thought about this,” Yoo said. According to Yoo, Park avoided answering the question directly.

In response to the committee’s demand for the formation of a fact-finding body, Park reportedly expressed her doubt about the efficacy of this method and reminded the committee delegation that the prosecutors are currently carrying out a vigorous investigation.

In addition, regarding the request for the enactment of a special law, Park expressed her general agreement but noted that laws are drafted and passed in the National Assembly, the delegation reported.

“During the meeting, the president didn’t offer many details. Instead, she said she would do her best, using rhetorical and abstract expressions throughout. This was too bad, as we went in with high expectations,” Yoo said.

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