Overview
- At a memorial in Ansan that drew about 1,800 people Thursday, President Lee Jae Myung became the first sitting leader to attend the Sewol anniversary ceremony.
- In his address, Lee said he feels a heavy responsibility and pledged zero tolerance for safety failures, promising the state will not let money or inaction endanger lives.
- The ruling Democratic Party said it will seek a basic life-and-safety law that defines safety as a right and creates an independent body to investigate disasters.
- Leaders of the conservative People Power Party did not attend, citing no formal invitation, while the 4.16 Foundation said it had invited the party’s floor leader.
- The 2014 sinking killed 304 people, most of them Danwon High School students, after unsafe ship changes, chronic overloading, weak oversight, and a poor rescue response led investigators to deem it man-made.