Prosecutors have asked to arrest Lee Jun-seok, the captain of the sunken Sewol ferry, who is reported to have been one of the first to leave the ship during the disaster. They are also looking to arrest his third mate, who was steering the ship when it began to sink. From the Times:
On Friday, investigators said Mr. Lee, the ship’s captain, who has been criticized for being among the first to leave the sinking ship, was not at the steering house when the ferry, the Sewol, tilted and began sinking on Wednesday morning.
“He temporarily left the steering command to his third shipmate,” said Park Jae-uk, a senior investigator. “We are investigating where exactly he was at the time.”
Lee is apparently already in custody, but has not been “formally arrested.”
Meanwhile, the vice-principal of the school attended by many of the ship’s passengers was found dead in an apparent suicide. More than 270 passengers are still missing.
