One of the decisions President Park Geun-hye made after the Sewol ferry disaster in April was to disband the Korea Coast Guard.

When a resolute Park solemnly made the announcement on May 19, about one month after the calamity that claimed more than 300 lives, it surprised not only the Coast Guard but also many ordinary citizens.

Some supported Park’s decision because, due to its botched rescue operations and collusive ties with the maritime industry, the Coast Guard at the time was bearing the brunt of public anger over the government’s mishandling of the maritime disaster.

Others thought the president was simply riding the negative public sentiment against the Coast Guard and trying to make it a scapegoat.

Now Park’s plan to disband the Coast Guard is facing greater opposition, especially from the main opposition New Politics Alliance for Democracy. The NPAD is using the ongoing parliamentary audit to press Park to call off the decision.

Under the government reorganization bill, drafted by the government and submitted to the National Assembly, the Korea Coast Guard will be renamed the Maritime Safety Agency and put under the control of a national safety body yet to be created.

Further, the maritime safety agency will have no investigative rights, as these will be exercised by the National Police Agency. This lacks logic and common sense because without the right to investigate, the maritime safety authorities would not be able to function as an effective law-enforcement authority.

This concern is well grounded, especially in view of the growing number of cases of illegal fishing by Chinese boats in Korean territory. Under the bill, maritime policemen will only have to risk their lives to arrest the Chinese fishermen and hand them over to the national police for interrogation and prosecution. This would make the whole law-enforcement process inefficient.

Another important point is that the Coast Guard’s mission is not limited to rescue operations and crackdowns on illegal fishing. It has other jobs to do that are no less important ― such as dealing with crimes that take place at sea and with maritime pollution, and protecting coastal rights and sovereignty.

After the Sewol disaster, no one questioned the need to overhaul the Coast Guard, but holding it accountable for the wrongs it committed in the past is one thing and leaving the nation’s coastal security vulnerable is another. Park should reconsider her decision.