Kang Hye Sung, a survivor of the tragedy and former Chonghaejin sales department employee, was the one who testified on the order at the hearing.
Kang confessed, "At the day of the tragedy, around 9:26 a.m., office manager Yang Dae Hong instructed us through a radio transmitter that 'in ten minutes the maritime police will be arriving,' and to 'dress the passengers in the life jackets,' and that an order was issued from the company to 'dress [the passengers] in life jackets and wait for any further instructions.'"
Kang also added that before the conversation took place she was ordered by Manager Yang to change the channel of the radio through which they communicated, using jargon that outsiders would not pick up. Further, when Kang had directly spoken to Assistant Manager named Hong and told him about the capsized ferry, he merely told her to "stop joking around."
When Kwon Young Bin, a member of the special committee wanted to know why Kang hasn't said anything about this in two years, Kang replied uncertainly, "I didn't say anything because I didn't want to tarnish the sales department employees."
Kwon accused Kang, "Weren't you just afraid that you might be penalized from the uppers?" Kang claimed, "I didn't think that; it was a matter of conscience."
Kang then tearfully told the remaining family members of the Sewol tragedy victims, "I'm truly sorry toward the family [Sewol tragedy victims]. I hope that the true cause of the disaster will be revealed as soon as possible."
After Kang's testimony, Kwon determined, "It's hard to confirm anything with a testimony alone but now that it's been clarified that Chonghaejin Marine issue the order to 'stand by,' we can more deeply investigate who is responsible for the actual sinking of the ferry."
The two year anniversary of the tragic Sewol ferry incident is on April 16.
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