Grief, anger and political tension have coloured the first anniversary of South Korea's ferry disaster, as weeping relatives mourned the 304 dead - mostly schoolchildren - and accused officials of indifference.
Bowing to a key demand of victims' families, President Park Geun-Hye used the anniversary to announce that the 6,825-tonne vessel would be brought to the surface at "the earliest possible date".
Park made the statement during a visit to the southern island of Jindo, the closest landfall to where the Sewol sank on April 16.
Family members, still angry over the official response to the disaster, declined to meet her, and there was no immediate response from the relatives to the announcement that the ferry would be raised.
The focus of Thursday's anniversary was on Ansan city, south of Seoul, where a single high school lost 250 students when the ferry went down.
Flags flew at half mast and yellow ribbons fluttered from trees and lamp posts as sirens blared across the city at 10am local time and residents bowed their heads for a minute's silence and prayer.
The president said: "I will take the necessary steps to salvage the ship at the earliest possible date."
"My heart still aches when I think of the nine people who are still missing under the cold water, and of their families."
The overloaded Sewol was carrying 476 people, including 325 students from the high school in Ansan, when it sank. Only 75 students survived.
A total of 295 bodies was recovered, but nine remained unaccounted for when divers called off the dangerous search in November.
The families of those still missing had spearheaded calls for the ferry to be brought to the surface - an operation that would cost an estimated $US110 million ($NZ144.6 million).
AFP
source: newshub archive
