South Korean Prime Minister Resigns Over Ferry Sinking
South Korean Prime Minister Chung Hong-won resigned from his largely ceremonial post in response to criticism of the government's response to the sinking of a ferry earlier this month.
Eleven days after the sinking of the Sewol, nearly two hundred bodies have been retrieved from the water and 114 still remain missing. Many of the dead are students from a high school, who traveled in a large group on a school field trip. Since the ferry first sunk, all members of the crew has been arrested and the vice principal of the school, who survived the accident, was found dead of an apparent suicide.
Issuing his statement on national television, Chung spoke of "the cries from the family members who still not have found their missing" and took responsibility for the government's failure to act quickly.
"During the search process, the government took inadequate measures and disappointed the public. I should take responsibility for everything as the prime minister, but the government can assume no more. So I will resign as prime minister."
Both Chung and President Park Geun-hye have been booed and even pelted with objects as they attempted to meet with grieving families.
This article was originally published at http://www.thewire.com/global/2014/04/south-korean-prime-minister-resigns-over-ferry-sinking/361275/
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