South Korean president Park Geun-hye has formally apologized for last month's ferry disaster, which killed more than 300 passengers.
President Park went on national television to take personal responsibility for her government's handling of the Sewol ferry sinking. She also announced the disbanding of the coast guard, which failed in the rescue mission. Park said rescue duty will be transferred to a national emergency safety agency to be set up, and the national police will take over its investigative function. The Sewol capsized and sank off the southwestern island of Jindo on April 16th. Some 470 passengers were on board, most of them high school students. 286 have been confirmed dead.
