According to presidential spokesman Min Kyung Wook, Prime Minister Chung Hong Won will stay in office until the government’s response to the Sewol ferry sinking has ended. According to BBC News, the South Korean Prime Minister Chung Hong-won said that resignation was “the right thing to do.”
Prime Minister Chung Hong Won reported during a televised briefing according to Bloomberg News that, “I offer my deepest condolences to the families of the victims.” Chung Won reported that “I apologize to the nation for the government’s failure to prevent the ferry disaster and to handle the accident properly.”
The Sewol ferry sank on April 16 during a routine trip from Incheon to the resort island of Jeju. There were 476 passengers as well as crew on board, 339 of them were only children. NBC news reported that, the media had suggested the victims frantically tried to climb walls or floors to escape in their final moments. 187 bodies have been recovered by divers and 115 people are still believed to be missing, according to the Daily Mail UK. Officials have reported that the missing is presumed drowned. Officials have taken all 15 people into custody involved in navigating the Sewol ferry.
It has been reported that the Captain, Lee Joon-seok told reporters after he was arrested that he had withheld the evacuation order because rescuers had not yet arrived and he feared for the passengers’ safety in the icy cold water. According to the Huffington Post, the Local media reported that the captain, Lee Joon-seok called for company approval of an evacuation.
According to a professor of political science and diplomacy at Myongji University in Seoul, Shin Yul,”It may tip the scales a bit, but in terms of the elections, this incident has been unfavorable to both parties because voters are angry with all public figures.”
Image Credit: www.duluthnewstribune.com