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S Korean president vows to raise sunken ferry

Thursday, 16 April 2015 1:43 PM [ Last Update: Thursday, 16 April 2015 1:42 PM ]

Relatives of victims of the Sewol ferry disaster throw flowers to pay tribute to the victims of the April 16, 2014 sinking, at sea off the coast of South Korea's southern island of Jindo on April 15, 2015 (AFP Photo)

South Korean president has vowed to raise the sunken Sewol ferry, bowing to a key demand of grieving families of more than 300 people who died when the vessel sank last year.

"I think now is the time for us to be prepared for the ship salvage," President Park Geun-hye said during a brief visit to the southern island of Jindo -- the closest landfall to the site where the Sewol sank a year ago.

"We'll make all necessary procedures promptly so that the ship can be raised as soon as possible," she added.

Park also promised to locate the bodies of the nine passengers who still remain missing.

Her announcement followed weeks of protests by the victims' families.

South Korea's President President Park Geun-hye

The government has faced constant pressure to extract the 6,825-ton ferry from the sea floor in a bid to determine the exact cause of the accident. The move is expected to cost the government around USD 110 million.

Earlier Thursday, a large number of the victims' relatives boycotted an event in memory of those who died in the tragedy and declined any meeting with the president until she agreed to raise the ship.

South Korean mourners pay tribute at a memorial for the victims of the sunken Sewol ferry ,on April 16, 2015. (AFP photo)

The grieving relatives also say the president has failed to give assurances on ensuring a fully independent inquiry into the tragedy.

"President Park has repeatedly ignored our demands," families' spokesman, Chun Myeong-Sun, told a rally in Seoul's City Hall plaza on Thursday evening, adding, "We will fight until the last moment to get answers and to make a safer society."

The Sewol ferry which sunk off Korea's southern coast claimed the lives of 304 people on board, including 250 schoolchildren.

People release yellow balloons during a ceremony to commemorate the first anniversary of South Korea's Sewol ferry disaster at the southern island of Jindo on April 16, 2015. (AFP photo)

Besides the vessel’s poor redesigning, many blame the accident on regulatory problems and incompetence of South Korea’s shipping authorities. More than 50 people have been taken to court over the incident, including 15 crew members, who were accused of leaving the students inside the sinking ferry and boarding lifeboats.

Last November, a court handed down a jail sentence of 36 years to the captain of Sewol over gross negligence in performing his duties during the incident. Other senior crew members were sentenced to 15 to 30 years in jail.

JR/KA/SS

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