South Korea’s government is facing growing criticism over its handling of last week’s ferry accident as controversy over the way police blocked an attempt by bereaved families to march to the presidential Blue House added to frustration over the conduct of the search and rescue operation.
The latest criticism came as President Park Geun-hye lambasted the ferry’s captain and crew for deserting the ship, saying their action amounted to “murder”.
Anger towards the government was running high yesterday as the search for the missing, mostly high school pupils, moved into its sixth day and the number of dead increased to 87. Only 174 of the 476 people on board survived the capsizing of the Sewol 20km off the country’s southwestern coast and 215 are still missing.