The Safest Route:

A Look at Public Transportation Safety

As initial theories concerning the causes behind the sinking of the Sewol have been discredited, Koreans’ anger has been increasing as one problem becomes clear: this was not the result of an isolated incident, but a failed system of oversight and regulation.

The Korean public has grown critical of the government for insufficiently guaranteeing the safety of public transportation services. Attempts at improvements have been made, but their effectiveness remains unknown, especially within a political culture in which people seem to expect the government to take responsibility for their safety.

The Sewol tragedy exposed a corrupt system of regulation. Like all domestic ferries, Korean Shipping Association, which is also an important trade group within the shipping industry, regulates the Sewol. This poses a conflict of interest as economic incentives could impact evaluations. Additionally, criticism of the Ministry of Ocean and Fisheries, which oversees all maritime policies, has been widespread because of apparent connections between its officials and shipping companies, including the operator of the Sewol, Chonghaejin Marine Company. Combined with the slow responses of emergency services immediately after the sinking, these revelations show that Korea’s public transportation may not be as safe as it seems.

Abigail Bard, who is doing a homestay in Cheongju, says that the “subsequent investigations into how poorly regulations were being followed and the oversight/compliance have definitely freaked [her] out a bit.” While taking a ferry trip with her homestay family, she was concerned even though she “probably wouldn’t have given a second thought to safety [had] Sewol not happened.” She is not alone in her concern.

Increased public pressure has forced the National Assembly to reconsider the Kim Young-ran Bill, originally proposed in 2012, to combat corruption while other government regulatory agencies like the Korea Transportation Safety Authority, the road, rail and airway transportation regulatory agency, face increased scrutiny. Though the Kim Young-ran Bill had not passed by the time this article was written, the government has taken steps to address concerns.

Currently, the government is either discussing or has already enacted a number of policies meant to improve safety on public transportation. One is the controversial move to ban standing buses on highways. In a roundtable discussion about the causes and lessons of the Sewol disaster hosted by The Korea Times in June of last year, Representative Chun Soon-ok of the New Politics Alliance for Democracy described the new policy as a “typical stop-gap measure” that failed to address the larger causes behind the prevalence of standing buses. Professor of politics at the University of Incheon, Lee Jun-han, seemed to agree with Chun when he commented that “Koreans are used to wanting things done fast, and they trust that nothing will happen to them.” Both Lee and Chun implied that the problems with public transportation safety may stem not only from failed regulation, but also from a cultural emphasis on expediency rather than safety.
Most foreigners in Korea appreciate the efficiency of its public transportation systems, but they remain concerned about their safety. According to a Seoul City government survey released last year, foreign residents’ favorite aspect of the capital city is its public transportation system, but their least favorite is the lack of available guidelines in case of emergencies. When asked about public transportation safety, Emily Lembo and Deanna Kolberg, Americans residing in Gwangju and Cheongju respectively, claimed to feel unsafe in city buses due to overcrowding, “dangerously” high speeds and risky driving. Lembo added that she often felt uncomfortable due to the aggressiveness of bus drivers who shout at passengers or other drivers. Similarly, Brittany Horton, an English teacher in Busan, lamented driving culture in Korea stating: “I wish more drivers would obey traffic signals. I’m so sick and tired of seeing drivers just speed through red lights, of almost witnessing people get hit by cars. As a pedestrian, no, I don’t feel safe.”

Ironically, in that many drivers in Korea are less than cautious, while claiming that the government needs to be more concerned about public safety, suggests that citizens may not recognize their own responsibility in the matter. In a 2014 Thomas Reuters Foundation study of Safety for Women in Subways, Seoul ranked relatively high, except for the public response category. Women in Seoul said they felt that they could not receive help from others if they asked while being harassed.

The Sewol disaster resulted primarily from failed oversight, but the same cannot be said of all transportation safety issues. Some problems result from the behavior of individuals who may not fully consider the potentially dangerous consequences of their actions. Because of increased public pressure, the government has moved toward improving the safety of its transportation systems. Yet, an assurance of safety will not happen anytime soon.