Korean government loses trust

Families attempt protest march to Cheong Wa Dae

JINDO — Over 100 people tried to make their way to Seoul to see President Park Geun-hye Sunday morning.

Most of them were family members of those still missing from the ferry Sewol that sank Wednesday morning.

They were angry that the government was mishandling search and rescue operations.

Three hundred and fifty policemen prevented them from crossing a bridge linking Jindo Island to the mainland.

Prime Minister Chung Hong-won twice met the families and tried to calm them down, however, many just sat in front of the police line.

They still wore disposable plastic raincoats, despite the fact that it had stopped raining and the sun was shining.

One woman was weeping in front of the line of policemen with her head bowed.

Nearly five days after the accident, Wednesday, no additional survivors have been found.

Some police officers wiped tears from the faces of forlorn family members and ended up crying with them.

One woman cried, “I want my daughter back before I cannot even recognize her face.”

Her daughter was one of the Danwon High School students trapped inside the sunken ferry.

Police said it would be dangerous for people to march across the bridge.

At the gym that serves as temporary shelter, many family members were still staring at the bulletin board listing victims’ names.

They didn’t hide their anger with the government that has had critical problems in dealing with the emergency.

“I don’t trust the government because I think it is not doing its best,” said a man named Tak whose child was missing. “It makes me miserable that I have no other option but to depend on the state-led operation.”

Currently, five teams of divers are conducting searches on five different routes using guide ropes connecting the inside of the ship to the surface.

Families also faulted the government over its inability to inform them correctly about what was going on during the search and rescue operations.

On the first day of the accident, it was blamed for overstating the number of survivors.

As a result, the numbers of rescued passengers and those listed as missing has kept changing. By Yoon Sung-won The korea times взять потребительский кредит ставки