On Thursday relatives and friends of the victims in the Sewol ferry accident were snubbed by the president of South Korea at the first anniversary from the tragedy.
Earlier this year the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries declared that a specially formed compensation committee will work to compensate the victim's families.
Back than representatives of the victims' relatives has protested the above-mentioned announcement as it has pointed out that it is simply an attempt aimed at diverting attention away from demands for the conducting of a more in-depth and independent investigation of the tragedy.
The president of South Korea pledged to salvage the ferry but still there is no clarity on the Sewol accident.
In a ceremony event relatives and friends grieved the 304 dead passengers, most of them high-school students. During the grief ceremony that day the relatives blocked the Prime Minister's event attendance and believing that the government is indifferent to their plight, they canceled another ceremony.
A year after the Sewol tragedy many citizens of South Korea are frustrated and angry with the failure of their government to improve safety standards, in the presence of corruption, incompetence and lack of responsibility in the high-level government officials.
To offer her condolences the President Park Geun-hye visited a port close to the location of the sunken ferry. The bereaved relatives refused the meeting and had already left the place in a protest of the government's indifference.
In a speech the South Korea's President announced the ship salvaging plans in more details but the operations on this plan were not determined.
In Ansan, the home city of all high-school students, who lost their life in the tragedy, was planned a private ceremony at Danwon High School. A minute of silence and lowered flags in public buildings were as well part of the remembrance.
Victims' relatives cancelled the memorial service in Ansan, planned to be present from thousands of people. Its cancellation made the relatives to express their anger over the President, who should have given in her speech more specific plan for the Sewol salvaging.
An amount from $91 million to $137 million is estimated to cost for the raising of the sunken Sewol ferry. The salvage operations are expected to take about one year and a half.
On Thursday, lawmakers in the National Assembly adopted a resolution forcing the government authorities to work faster on the ferry's salvage. Two lawmakers out of 165 voted against the resolution, two abstained and 161 voted positively.