South Korea’s prime minister resigns
‘Deep-rooted evils’ in handling of ferry sinking prompts abrupt notice
JINDO, SOUTH KOREA — South Korea’s prime minister resigned Sunday over the government’s handling of a ferry sinking that has left more than 300 people dead or missing and led to widespread shame, fury and finger-pointing, blaming “deeprooted evils” in society for the tragedy.
South Korean executive power is largely concentrated in the president, so Chung Hong-won’s resignation appears to be symbolic. Presidential spokesman Min Kyung-wook said President Park Geun-hye would accept the resignation, but did not say when Chung would leave office.
Chung’s resignation comes amid rising indignation over claims by the victims’ relatives that the government did not do enough to rescue or protect their loved ones. Most of the dead and missing were high school students on a school trip.
Officials have taken into custody all 15 people involved in navigating the ferry Sewol, which sank April 16. A prosecutor revealed that investigators were also looking into communications made as the ship sank between a crew member and the company that owns the ferry.
Chung was heckled by victims’ relatives and his car was blocked when he visited a shelter on an island near the site of the sinking a week ago. On Sunday, he told reporters in Seoul: “As I saw grieving families suffering with the pain of losing their loved ones and the sadness and resentment of the public, I thought I should take all responsibility as prime minister.
“There have been so many varieties of irregularities that have continued in every corner of our society and practices that have gone wrong.
“I hope these deep-rooted evils get corrected this time and this kind of accident never happens again.”
Meanwhile, senior prosecutor Yang Jung-jin said that two helmsmen and two members of the steering crew who were detained Saturday had been formally arrested. Eleven other crew members, including the captain, had been arrested earlier.
Yang also said a crew member called the ship’s owner, Chonghaejin Marine Co. Ltd., as the ferry was listing, but declined to disclose whether the caller was the captain. Local media reported that the captain called for company approval of an evacuation.
The arrested crew members are accused of negligence and of failing to help passengers in need. Capt. Lee Joon-seek 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.
Divers have recovered 188 bodies and 114 people are believed to be missing, though the government-wide emergency task force has said the ship’s passengers list could be inaccurate. Only 174 people survived, including 22 of the 29 crew members.