South Korean president condemns ferry captain, crew

As the death toll from a sunken ferry continued to mount Monday, South Korean President Park Geun Hye blasted the captain and some crewmembers Monday for committing "unforgivable, murderous behavior" in the disaster, which left more than 300 people dead or missing.

As the official death toll rose to 104, divers finally made their way to a main dining hall of the submerged ferry, where they feared they may find the bodies of many of the approximately 200 passengers still missing.

Most of those unaccounted for are students from Darwon High School in Ansan, near Seoul, who were on a school trip to the southern tourist island of Jeju.

The 68-year-old captain, Lee Joon Seok, and two crewmembers — a helmsman and a 25-year-old third mate — were arrested last week on suspicion of negligence and abandoning people in need.

The third mate was steering at the time of the accident Wednesday in a challenging area where she had not steered before. The captain was not on the bridge at the time.

Four other crewmembers have been detained, and prosecutors say they are weighing possible arrest warrants for two more.

The captain, who was one of the first people rescued from the ferry, initially told passengers to stay in their rooms and waited more than half an hour to issue an evacuation order. By then, the vessel had listed so far that many of the people most likely were unable to escape.

"What the captain and part of the crew did is unfathomable from the viewpoint of common sense — unforgivable, murderous behavior," Park said at a Cabinet briefing Monday. The comments were posted on the website of the presidential Blue House.

Instead of following a marine traffic controller's instructions to "make the passengers escape," Park said, the captain "told the passengers to stay put while they themselves became the first to escape."

"Legally and ethically," the president said, "this is an unimaginable act."

A transcript released by the Korean coast guard Sunday shows the ship, which carried 476 people, was crippled by confusion and indecision well after it began listing.

About 30 minutes after the Sewol began tilting, a crewmember repeatedly asked a marine traffic controller whether passengers would be rescued if they abandoned the ship off South Korea's southern coast.

"Even if you can't use your speaker, do your best to go out and ensure that your passengers wear life jackets or thick clothes," dispatchers said.

"If our passengers evacuate, will they be immediately rescued?" the ship inquired.

"Let them float even with life rings. Hurry!" the dispatcher said, adding that "the captain should make a final decision."

Lee has said he delayed ordering an evacuation of the 476 people on board because of strong current in the cold waters 12 miles off Jindo island. He said anyone who went into the ocean could have drifted away before rescue boats arrived.

Maritime experts counter that he could at least have ordered passengers to the deck, where they would have had a greater chance of survival. Video showed that Lee was among the first people rescued. Some of his crew said he had been hurt. A doctor who treated him said he had only light injuries.

In the latest twist on the question of responsibility, an eyewitness, Oh Yong Seok, one of Sewol's helmsmen, says the captain did give the ship's first mate the order to evacuate.

"The captain gave the order to abandon ship to the first mate as the ship was going down. The first mate had the duty to lead the passenger evacuation," Oh was quoted in the Herald Business.

"The first mate was holding a mobile phone, but I did not see him call other crewmembers or take action" to relay the order). Oh was unable to recall the time the order was given, The Korea Herald reported.

Park ordered a full investigation into the disaster, acknowledging serious problems with the government's initial response.

"We have to reflect on the government's crisis response system and its initial response," she said. "We have to thoroughly examine our safety policy and crisis response capabilities, fix existing system and methods and come up with fundamental solutions no matter the cost or difficulty."

Meanwhile, loved ones of the missing gathered in a gymnasium on nearby Jindo island, consumed with the grim process of identifying bodies.

White signboards have been posted with sparse details of recovered bodies like gender, height, hair length and clothing. Many of the bodies were described as wearing hoodies and track pants. One girl had painted her fingernails red and toenails black. Another had braces on her teeth.

"I'm afraid to even look at the white boards," said Lim Son Mi, 50, whose 16-year-old daughter, Park Hye Son, has not been found. "But because all the information is quite similar, whenever I look at it, my heart breaks."

Relatives have begun giving DNA samples to help make bodies easier to identify.

In Ansan, a funeral service was held Sunday for the vice principal of Darwon High School, who committed suicide two days after the accident. The educator, who had been on the ferry, left a message that he couldn't bear to live when so many of his students were dead or missing, Yonhap news agency reported.

Contributing: Associated Press