President Park Geun Hye finally brought up the current state of the sunken Sewol Ferry on April 16, a full year after it sank and took with it over three hundred lives of those on board, many of whom were young students from Danwon High School.
There are still nine missing bodies, resulting in the call from parents of the victims to raise the Sewol Ferry, a project which was revealed to likely cost over over $100 million USD. Despite the enormous strain such an act will have on the budget, President Park Geun Hye has relayed her intentions to comply with the parents' wishes no matter what by raising the ship. Before this, the National Assembly had already made its own announcement to recover the ferry in hopes of helping with the healing process of the remaining family and friends.
Despite announcing that she will raise the ferry from its watery grave, President Park Geun Hye is yet to see a positive response from the victims' families as they appeared to have silently protested her visit to the port, disabling her from paying her respects at the blocked off memorial altar. In particular, many of them were upset that she departed South Korea for a Latin America tour on the very day of the Sewol Ferry anniversary.
When she did make her visit to pay her respects, the president stood before the podium and said, "The government will take all measures in order to ensure that the missing people return to their families' arms." In relation to investigating into the truth of the Sewol Ferry incident, the president stated, "Through a special Sewol Ferry law enacted by the National Assembly, a public-and-private joint investigative committee for inquiring into the truth has been established and will soon undergo additional investigation. I will do my best so that the compensation and indemnification for the harm will properly occur. I earnestly ask that you overcome the pain from the Sewol ferry incident to take a step on the path to making a new Korea."
Addressing the bereaved families, President Park said, "I know better than anybody the pain that comes with losing family so suddenly and felt through my own life that that pain does not get erased and remains in your heart to make your life agonizing. Although frustration makes you lose hope and makes your life harder, we must raise our own hearts to stand them up once again. As we experience frustration from the sadness we endured for the past year, we cannot just drop down to the floor. All of us must now stand up and gather the strength to make a safe country."
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