Numbers mistakes cause distrust

Emergency personnel carry bags containing remains recovered from the sunken ferry Sewol to ambulences on Jindo Island, Sunday. / Yonhap

By Nam Hyun-woo

Repeated mistakes regarding casualty figures in the sinking of the ferry Sewol has caused families of those still missing to distrust the government’s ability to handle the disaster.

In the space of five days since the accident, the authorities have changed the numbers of victims, survivors and the missing six times.

At 12:10 a.m., Sunday, the government announced that three additional bodies were found. Some minutes later, it said three more were found. It turned out that the same finding was reported twice.

The correction followed Prime Minister Chung Hong-won’s pledge, Saturday, that the government will “strive to deliver exact information in a swift manner,” after making a critical correction in the total number of passengers and those rescued.

On Friday, the government has corrected the number of passengers and crewmembers on board the vessel to 476 from 475, and the number of the rescued to 174 from 179.

The Coast Guard explained it had miscalculated as there was no one “control tower” coordinating the parties concerned.

It said it had found two passengers who were not among those initially listed, while three extra passengers got on board without being counted.

This was not the first error.

On Wednesday, it initially announced some 370 were rescued, but corrected the number six times to the current 174.

The number of total passengers also has been repeatedly revised from 477, to 459, and then 475 and finally 476.

A Coast Guard officer said, “It is possible that there will be more changes in the numbers, because some undeclared passengers might have been on board.” She added that the Coast Guard will do its best to prevent further corrections.

A group of family members scuffled with police Sunday as they attempted to visit Cheong Wa Dae to complain about the mishaps.

Until Friday, the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters in Seoul has served as the “command post” for the rescue operation, and announced updates to the public.

However, as criticism against the government mounted, this function was switched to the headquarters on Jindo Island, Saturday, to prevent further confusion.