South Korea's Prime Minister Resigns Over Ferry Sinking
Chung announced his resignation Sunday during an emergency press conference in Seoul, Al Jazeera reported.
"Keeping my post [is] too great a burden on the administration," Chung said, according to Reuters.
Similar in role to U.S. vice presidents, the prime minister in South Korea is second-in-command to the South Korean President, a position currently held by Park Geun-hye, who was elected in 2013.
The futile search-and-rescue effort for victims of the Apr. 16 disaster had been heavily criticized by South Koreans, especially families of those who died. For Chung, that meant boos and someone throwing a water bottle at him during a visit with the grieving families, according to Reuters.
A photo of a government official sitting on a chair to eat ramen while the families of the ferry victims were eating on the floor circulated on South Korean social media and criticism poured in. A second official from the ministry of security and public administration came under even more criticism for posing for a self-promoting photo in front of the list of the dead at the gymnasium where families were sheltered. That official was suspended and then allowed to resign.
This is a developing story, and will be updated as we learn more.
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