South Korean Prime Minister Chung Hong-won has resigned over the ferry disaster, which left hundreds dead earlier.
“I wanted to resign earlier but handling the situation was the first priority and I thought that it was a responsible act to help before leaving. But I’ve decided to resign now not to be any burden on the administration,” said Chung in a brief announcement in the capital Seoul on Sunday.
On April 16, the Sewol ferry sank as it was on a routine trip south from the port of Incheon to the island of Jeju.
The disaster left more than 300 dead, most of whom were high school students and teachers on a field trip.
Late on Saturday, the country’s prosecutors said all surviving crew members of the sunken ferry were in the government’s custody.
Lee Joon-seok, the ship’s captain, had already been arrested along with 10 other crew members.
The captain initially told passengers to stay in their rooms and took half an hour to issue an evacuation order, by which time the ship was tilting too severely for many people to get out.
The 6,825-ton ferry was reportedly carrying an estimated 3,608 tons of cargo — more than three times what an inspector said it could safely carry.
NT/NN/AS
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