Chung Hong-won said resignation was “the right thing to do”
South Korean Prime Minister Chung Hong-won has announced his resignation amid criticism of the government’s handling of the sinking of a passenger ferry.
The Sewol ferry with 476 people on board – most of them students and teachers – sank off South Korea on 16 April.
Divers have recovered 183 bodies, but scores are missing presumed drowned.
Furious relatives have repeatedly criticised what they see as the slowness of the recovery operation.
“I wanted to resign earlier but handling the situation was the first priority and I thought that it was a responsible act to help before leaving,” a sombre Mr Chung said in a brief announcement.
“But I’ve decided to resign now, not to be any burden on the administration.”
The day after the disaster, Mr Chung was booed and someone threw a water bottle at him when he visited grieving parents.
Divers were battling atrocious weather conditions on Sunday as they tried to retrieve more corpses trapped in the sunken ferry.
A coastguard spokesman said heavy seas whipped up by strong winds were badly complicating recovery efforts.
“The situation is very difficult due to the weather, but we are continuing search efforts, using the occasional calmer periods,” the spokesman said, adding that 93 divers would take part in Sunday’s operation. BBC
