South Korean prime minister resigns over ferry disaster

South Korea’s prime minister has offered to resign over the government’s handling of the deadly ferry sinking, blaming “deep-rooted evils” and societal irregularities for the tragedy that has left more than 300 people dead or missing.

Chung Hong-won’s resignation offer comes amid rising indignation over claims by the victims’ relatives that the government did not do enough to rescue or to protect their loved ones. Most of the missing and dead were high school students on a school trip.

Officials have taken into custody all 15 people involved in navigating the ferry that sank on April 16th.

South Korean executive power is largely concentrated in the president, Park Geun-hye, so Mr Chung’s resignation offer appears to be largely symbolic. There was no immediate word from Ms Park about whether she would accept his resignation.

Mr Chung was heckled by relatives and his car was blocked when he visited a shelter on an island near the site of the sinking a week ago.

Mr Chung issued an extraordinary statement to reporters in Seoul on the national tragedy.

“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,” he said. “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 two helmsmen and two members of the steering crew had been formally arrested. They join 11 other crew members, including the captain, in detention.

Mr Yang also said a crew member called the ship's owner, Chonghaejin Marine, as the ferry was listing on April 16th but declined to disclose whether the caller was the captain.

Local media reported that the captain called for company approval of an evacuation. Prosecutors say they are analysing the content of communications between the ship and the company.

The arrested crew members are accused of negligence and of failing to help passengers in need. 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.

Divers have recovered 187 bodies and 115 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. The seven surviving crew members who have not been arrested or detained held non-marine jobs such as chef or steward.

Captain Lee Joon-seok said after his arrest that he withheld the evacuation order because rescuers had yet to arrive and he feared for passengers’ safety in the cold, swift water.

Crew members have also defended their actions. Helmsman Oh Yong-seok, one of those arrested yesterday, said he and several crew members did their best to save people. He said they worked from nearby boats to smash windows on the sinking ferry, dragging six passengers stuck in cabins to safety.

The Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries has said it will soon change ferry systems so that passenger, vehicle and cargo information is processed electronically. There is not only uncertainty about how many people were on the Sewol, but a huge discrepancy regarding the amount of cargo it was carrying when it sank.

Mr Yang said the cause of the sinking could be due to excessive veering, improper stowage of cargo, modifications made to the ship and tidal influence. He said investigators would determine the cause by consulting with experts and using simulations.

Prosecutors have also seized documents from Jindo Vessel Traffic Services Center and Jeju Vessel Traffic Services Centre and are analysing communication messages, vessel tracking data and security camera recordings. Despite bad weather, dozens of divers plan to continue underwater searches for the missing, but the weather is worsening, with a high-seas advisory and rapid ocean currents.