(2nd LD) Rival parties reach compromise on ferry bills

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SEOUL, Oct. 31 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's rival political parties agreed Friday to dismantle the Coast Guard and the anti-disaster agency in a deal that ended a months-long standoff over April's deadly ferry disaster.

The ruling Saenuri Party and the main opposition New Politics Alliance for Democracy said they will create two headquarters responsible for maritime security and emergency management under the supervision of a new government office to be tasked with overseeing public safety.

President Park Geun-hye has proposed the new office amid strong public criticism of the government's bungled response to the ferry sinking. She has vowed to make public safety a top political priority in a country in which safety is often overlooked by regulators in cozy relationships with their former colleagues in the private sector.

The parties also agreed to set up the post of a presidential secretary to handle anti-disaster affairs.

The move underscored the parliamentary commitment to making South Korea a safer country following the April 16 ferry sinking that left more than 300 people dead or missing, mostly high school students on a school excursion.

The rival parties agreed to form a fact-finding committee whose chair is to be named by victims' families for separate investigations into the sinking of the ferry Sewol.

Still, it remains unclear whether the planned separate probe by the fact-finding committee will reach a different conclusion from that of prosecutors.

Prosecutors believe the combination of cargo overloading, excessive remodeling of the ship and poor steering are to blame for the disaster.

In another move to ensure the families' voices are heard, the ruling party agreed to exclude any candidates for an independent counsel if he or she is explicitly opposed by the families.

The parties also said that anyone who fails to appear before hearings and makes false testimonies could face up to three years in prison or be fined a maximum of 30 million won (US$28,000).

They agreed to immediately hold discussions on how to compensate the victims.

They also agreed on a bill calling for measures to swiftly retrieve the wealth of those who are found to be responsible for the deaths of many people, even if that wealth has already been given to their family members.

The move came as Yoo Byung-eun, the late owner of the ferry Sewol, accumulated some of his wealth through illegal means and gave most of it to his family members, making it impossible to retrieve.

The rival parties said they will put the bills to vote in a plenary session of the National Assembly on Nov. 7.
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