South Korean President Park Geun-hye weeps today while delivering a speech to the nation about the sunken ferry Sewol at the presidential Blue House in Seoul, South Korea.
South Korean President Park Geun-hye, center, prays today during a services to pay tribute to victims of the sunken ferry Sewol at a Catholic church in Seoul.SEOUL, South Korea – South Korea’s president announced plans Monday to disband the coast guard and root out corruption and collusion between regulators and shipping companies that furious citizens believe led to a ferry disaster last month that left more than 300 people dead or missing.
President Park Geun-hye’s first televised address to the nation since the April 16 sinking began with a deep bow and ended with her tearfully reading the names of passengers and crew who died trying to save others. With her approval ratings plummeting ahead of mayoral and governor elections in about two weeks, the speech sought to acknowledge widespread anger over government failures as well as chart a path forward.
Most of the victims were students from a single high school near Seoul who were traveling to the southern tourist island of Jeju.
“We failed to rescue students who we could have saved,” Park said. “The ultimate responsibility for not properly dealing with this incident is mine.”
Park has apologized before, but critics have called for her to formally address the nation and respond to claims that incompetence, corruption and bad leadership doomed the ferry and those trapped inside it. In Monday’s speech, Park decried the accumulation of “widespread abnormal practices” that she said triggered the sinking.