By Ahn Choong-yong

I would like to begin by expressing my deepest condolences to the families who lost loved ones, mostly high school students, in the Sewol ferry disaster two weeks ago. It is more than a national shame that Korea proves, once again, to be a total failure as far as daily safety systems are concerned. As a layman of marine navigation, I was appalled by the fact that most of the Sewol's 42 inflatable life boats were useless during the critical two hours the ferry sank.

Apparently, the captain and many crew members abandoned ship without doing their best to save passengers. The questions have been endless. Is this typical Korean behavior? How could safety rules be so casually violated? How could the mechanical system of a ferry carrying 475 people fail so tremendously and sink so suddenly? How could the ferry have been remodeled to accommodate more passengers and been overloaded? Why aren't the rescue operations in a country as modern as Korea more effective?

Of course, the question underlying all of the above is, what are the root causes of this tragic accident? By and large, Koreans have been giving safety-related activities a chronic lick and a promise; they have been doing things quickly but not carefully, often to get things done on or before deadline. Using a "seolma" psychology that leads us to assume the worst is unlikely to happen, we ignore the slightest possibility of failure. Clearly, we have not learned the hard lessons we should have after a similar ferry sinking 20 years ago. We tend to forget once the storm is over.

Many foreigners are telling me that one of the first words they learned in Korea was "ppali, ppali," which means "quick, quick. " During the high-growth period of the Korean economy, it is true that Koreans tended to get things done quickly, at times sacrificing workmanship. It is also true that during Korea's period of near-miraculous economic performance, many Koreans were driven by the prospect of making a quick profit, without paying due consideration for the rule of law and safety standards. Widespread mammonism overwhelmed the value ordering of Korean society.

Many Koreans learn of this quick-quick motivation while serving compulsory military service. I still vividly remember how, during my ROTC cadet years, we had to dress in full uniform, carry military ration bags and line up on a first-come, first-served basis after being awakened for emergency midnight drills designed to instill combat readiness. Quickness and readiness have reaped benefits in Korea, but this disposition must now also be rule-abiding and based on precision.

A chronic lick and a promise mindset in this era of modern mass transportation and precision is dangerous and must be rooted out. Korea has undergone perhaps one of the fastest urbanization processes. People are living in jam-packed apartment complexes, use a mass-transportation system and are surrounded by plants using highly hazardous chemicals. In recent years, climate abnormalities have caused a heavy human toll and property damage. Recognizing the massive destructive consequences of natural and manmade disasters, the Park Geun-hye government renamed the Ministry of Public Administration and Security as the Ministry of Security and Public Administration. The government should be fully committed to cultivating a safety-first mindset through our education system and daily life, and must be ready to bear related costs even though superficial growth may slow.

Korea is the world's 14th-largest economy and a member of the OECD that must respect the rule of law in safety measures and its system of operation. The world is now watching how Korea prepares to avoid the recurrence of manmade and careless accidents. This means Koreans, traumatized as they are, need to radically change their mindset to one that upholds safety rules and develop new moral and value standards. Only then can Korea achieve "honest wealth-creation. " We have been focusing on information, nano- and bio-technologies to upgrade the Korean economy, and this requires ultra-precision and scientific approaches.

Rule-based accuracy must now be embedded in every aspect of daily Korean life.