EDITORIAL - Deterrent

It’s a different culture and a different country. Still, there are lessons to be learned from the way authorities in South Korea are dealing with the ferry disaster that has left at least 150 confirmed fatalities and over 100 passengers still missing as of yesterday afternoon.

The ship captain and six of his crew,  whose  actions as the ferry Sewol listed and began sinking were likened to “murder” by no less than the president of South Korea, have been arrested and face life in prison if convicted for the deaths. Authorities have also started digging into the background of the ferry owners, who have been barred from leaving the country.

On Wednesday, government prosecutors raided the home of the billionaire whose family operated the ferry as well as the company’s offices and those of its 20 affiliates, seizing documents on suspicion of accounting fraud. So far a chief engineer of the Sewol has tried to commit suicide out of remorse, while another crewmember regrets surviving, according to news reports.

Such attitudes are the norm rather than the exception in a society that has convicted and sent to prison two former presidents for corruption, while a third jumped off a cliff to his death out of shame after his wife was linked to crooked deals. In addition to a deep sense of shame among the people, justice is efficient in South Korea, serving as a deterrent to negligence and crime.

In contrast, the typical reaction when a ferry sinks in the Philippines is shameless buck-passing, from the crew to the owners to maritime industry regulators.

The response to the disaster in Korea is guaranteed to make a lasting impression and encourage better compliance with maritime safety rules. In the Philippines, the failure to hold anyone accountable for the deaths of thousa0nds in the past three decades has guaranteed that there will be more maritime disasters ahead, with deadly consequences.