Sewol Ferry Disaster 12 Years On: Bereaved Families' Mental Health Risks Double General Public's

Although 12 years have passed since the Sewol ferry disaster, a significant number of victims, including bereaved families of the deceased, continue to suffer from various illnesses such as trauma.

According to the Ansan Mental Health Center's 2025 business report, a total of 1,021 individuals are registered for psychological support related to the Sewol disaster: 782 bereaved family members, 97 survivors, 111 survivor families, and 31 individuals experiencing indirect trauma. Over the past year, the center conducted 2,551 in-person consultations and 12,080 phone consultations. As of 2024, the most common mental health conditions treated due to trauma were insomnia, depression, and chronic headaches, while physical ailments included hypertension, diabetes, gastric/duodenal ulcers, and lower back/sciatica pain. As of 2022, bereaved families faced approximately 2.4 times the risk of mental and behavioral disorders and approximately 2.1 times the risk of endocrine, nutritional, and metabolic diseases compared to the general public. The risk of physical conditions affecting the digestive, nervous, and musculoskeletal systems was also higher, ranging from about 1.2 to 1.8 times that of the general population.

Under the current Sewol Disaster Victim Support Act, government medical cost support for victims is limited until April 15, 2029. This law, enacted in 2015, included medical support for physical and mental illnesses or after-effects for 10 years following the disaster and was extended by five years through parliamentary amendment.

The Ansan Mental Health Center stated that given the severity of victims' trauma and the occurrence of anniversary reactions, the support period should be eliminated or provided long-term. Kim Hyun, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, introduced a bill to amend the Sewol Disaster Victim Support Act on the 10th, proposing the deletion of the deadline for the payment of medical support funds to Sewol disaster victims. Shim Min-young, a professor of psychiatry at Ewha Womans University, commented that setting a deadline is not conducive to fostering an environment that promotes recovery, advocating for the deletion of the support period and pointing out that recovery support has been insufficient due to secondary victimization and political disputes.