Sewol disaster: President pledges to raise ferry as South Korea mourns

South Korea’s president has promised to raise the Sewol ferry, as the nation marks a year since the disaster.

A total of 304 people, mostly school students, were killed when the ship – overloaded and illegally redesigned – sank off Jindo island.

The disaster triggered nationwide grief and outrage. It led to severe criticism of safety standards and rescue efforts.

Divers have recovered all but nine of the bodies. Relatives say the ship must be raised so more remains can be found.

The government says salvaging the ship will cost $110m (£74m). But President Park Guen-hye, speaking at a port in Jindo, said she would take “the necessary steps to salvage the ship at the earliest possible date”.

South Korea’s legislative National Assembly adopted a resolution calling on the government to ensure the ferry’s speedy recovery, which it said “is the path toward healing the minds of the victims, survivors and bereaved families… as well as those of all the citizens”, reported Yonhap.

Memorial ceremonies are being held in some 300 places across the country.

The largest takes place in the afternoon at a hall in Ansan city, the home of the students, who were on a school trip. A private ceremony will also take place at their school in the evening.

In the morning, Prime Minister Lee Wan-koo was prevented from entering the memorial hall by angry relatives of those who died.

Investigators say the ferry sank because, when an inexperienced crew member made too fast a turn, the combination of an illegal redesign and overloaded cargo meant the ship was unstable.

But the relatives want an independent, more thorough inquiry into the disaster, which sparked countrywide debate about regulatory failings and official incompetence.

‘Heart aches’

On Wednesday, some sailed to the site of the disaster to scatter flowers and make offerings.

“I am so heartbroken. In such cold water, to think how cold she would have been,” Reuters news agency quoted Lee Jung-seob as saying of her daughter, school student Hye-kyung.

“As she ended her life, to think how she would have missed her mum and dad and her family. My heart aches so much.”

As the ship – sailing from Incheon to Jeju island – listed, the crew told passengers to stay in their cabins and wait.

Harrowing phone messages and footage later emerged showing students growing increasingly scared as they became trapped inside the sinking ship.

BBC