Looking back at 2014: Domestic news

Our final look back at 2014: mainly domestic news stories from South Korea:

The Sewol and safety culture

The MV Sewol capsized on 16 April, causing the death of 304 passengers.
A number of factors contributed to the disaster, including lax safety inspections, unsafe modifications, unsecured cargo, overloading, and an inexperienced crew hired on temporary contracts.
The rescue efforts came under criticism, too
The captain, who abandoned ship leaving passengers on board, was sentenced to 36 years in prison
There was a logjam in the National Assembly while politicians struggled to agree the scope of the investigation
Yoo Byung-eun, the chief of the chaebol which owned the ferry operation was found dead in a Jeollanam-do field in June, but was only identified 6 weeks later. Outside of his business interests he headed a religious sect and pursued interests as a wildlife photographer. He had also commissioned a symphony from Michael Nyman
Other disasters raised questions about Korea’s public safety:
- Sinkholes and cracks started appearing in the roads around the new Lotte World Tower skyscraper
- A fire in a Jeolla hospice killed 21 and injured 8
- A fire at a bus terminal in Goyang, Geonggi-do, killed 6
- An arsonist set fire to a Seoul subway train on line 3
- On the plus side, all passengers were rescued when a cruise ship ran aground off South Jeolla province at the end of September

Hyundai Motor splurged around $10 billion on the site for a new headquarters complex in Gangnam. They also invested a lot of money in Superbowl advertisements and announced a programme to support Britain’s Tate Modern with commissions and acquisitions which complements its 10-year sponsorship at the Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art in Korea
Samsung’s Lee Kun-hee suffered from a heart attack in May and spent the rest of the year in hospital
Three credit card companies – KB Kookmin Card, Lotte Card and NH Card – had their business suspended for three months for “complacency” in their mishandling of customer data.
A long-running feud over software at KB Financial Group led to the bank’s chief executive officer resigning and official punishments for both the group chairman and the CEO raised.

Plastic surgery patients might want to check what goes on in Gangnam clinics:
- One clinic created a tower out of patients’ jawbone fragments
- At another clinic nursing assistants held a party during an operation.
The public was outraged at an eccentric proposal for controlling the river rat population.
A Burmese beauty queen fell out with the organisers of a Korean beauty contest, alleging that she had been expected to undergo plastic surgery and provide escort services to businessmen. She returned to Burma with her $100,000 crown.
75 Indian farmers came to Korea purportedly to attend a religious conference and promptly vanished.
Jeju’s Chief Prosecutor resigned after allegations of public indecency.

“Nut Rage” entered the English vocabulary thanks to the reprehensible actions of Cho Hyun-ah, “heiress” to the Korean Air chairman. She has now resigned from her post as director of in-flight service and faces prosecution.
An abused security guard set himself alight after being mistreated by residents at a Gangnam apartment block.
Internal conflict at the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra prompted the resignation of their CEO amid allegations that she had sexually assaulted staff.
In the army,
- A female officer who committed suicide following sexual harassment was ruled to have died while on duty
- A sergeant killed five soldiers, wounded seven others, and tried to commit suicide after being taunted and ostracized
- Prosecutors charged four soldiers with murder following the death of a conscript whom they subjected to systematic beatings
- A general was arrested for sexually assaulting a female officer
- A soldier revealed that he had been in a coma for 19 months because of a beating by superior officers

A government study predicted that South Korea would become extinct by 2750 if current birthrate trends are maintained.
A meteorite exploded over Hamyang and Sancheong Counties in Gyeongsangnam-do, showering the Jinju area with fragments.
A papal visit brought a brief respite from the darker stories of the year.
- In preparation for his August visit he beatified 124 Korean Catholic martyrs.
- Just before his arrival the cross on Myeongdong Cathedral’s spire became lop-sided as a result of a storm.
- The DPRK celebrated his arrival with a ballistic missile launch
The Constitutional Court disbanded the leftist Unified Progressive Party (UPP) in a move that Amnesty International called a “sign of shrinking space for freedom of expression“.
Kakao Talk suffered an outflow of customers over privacy concerns as the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office announced the establishment of a team designed to prevent cyber defamation.
Auction houses completed the sale of Chun Doo-hwan’s art collection, raising 7.3 billion won to pay off some of the former president’s fines which amount to 167 billion.