The Sewol Ferry Safety System
The Sewol disaster emerged from an operating system that joined a stability-reducing conversion, excess cargo, insufficient ballast, weak securing, little emergency preparation, delegated inspection, and captured regulation. When the ferry listed, passengers were repeatedly told to remain while ship and public-rescue authorities failed to turn urgent information into evacuation. Bereaved families made truth-finding and memory continuing public institutions, exposing why investigation independence is itself part of a safe society.
How can a safety system ensure that commercial pressure, divided oversight, and command obedience do not make ordinary passengers the last people allowed to act on danger?