S Korean prime minister resigns over ferry sinking

I expected the same from Malaysia's MH370 tragedy but where were the actions and also the official report so far?

SEOUL: South Korea's prime minister resigned Sunday, blaming corruption and "deep-rooted evil" for the sinking of a passenger ferry that left 300 people dead or missing, as anger grows over the bungled response to the tragedy.

Chung Hong-won admitted he had not been up to the task of overseeing rescue operations after the Sewol capsized with 476 people -- many of them schoolchildren -- on board.

"I offer my apology for having been unable to prevent this accident from happening and unable to properly respond to it afterwards," he said.

"I believed I, as the prime minister, certainly had to take responsibility and resign."

Parents and relatives of the missing and the dead have blasted the response to the sinking, saying delays in launching the rescue had cost lives.

There has also been rage over perceived corruption and lax safety standards that may have led to the disaster, with claims that the ferry was overloaded and the passenger list was inaccurate and incomplete.

"Looking at the latest accident I came to a painful realisation that there is too much deep-rooted evil and corruption in our society," Chung said.

"I hope that such wrongdoings will be rooted out this time so that an accident like this will never happen again."

The role of prime minister is largely ceremonial in South Korea, with the lion's share of executive power vested in the presidency of Park Geun-hye.

http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/asiapacific/s-korean-prime-minister/1084768.html