Cabinet approves ordinance on Sewol investigative committee

The body will have three investigative departments, the first, which will take charge of collecting and analyzing evidence from the ship necessary to finding the cause of the sinking. The second department will handle the search for the nine people still missing, and identification and processing of any remains and belongings found during the searches.

The third department will study ways on what to do with the retrieved vessel, including whether to preserve it. Members of this committee will talk with the victims' families to gather different opinions before submitting their recommendations to the government.

The 6,800-ton Sewol sank on April 16, 2014, off the southwestern coast while on its way to the southern island of Jeju.

A total of 304 people, most of them high school students who were on an excursion, died from the tragedy. It was only in late March that the vessel was fully raised out of the waters, and a search is still under way for the missing and any signs that would explain why the ship went under.

The ordinance protects witnesses questioned by the committee by punishing anyone who leaks their identity or investigation information to the media. Violators can be jailed up to three years or fined a maximum 30 million won ($26,304). Members of the committee or witnesses who come under threats can receive official protection. (Yonhap)