S. Korean president apologises over ferry disaster

South Korean President Park Geun-hye pays tribute at the government's official joint memorial altar for the victims of the sunken ferry Sewol at Ansan Hwarang Park in Ansan, South Korea, 29 April 2014. - EPA

SEOUL, April 29, 2014 (AFP) - South Korean President Park Geun-Hye apologised Tuesday for her government's failure to prevent a ferry disaster that left some 300 people dead or missing, and the inadequate emergency response.

"I don't know how to apologise for the failure to prevent this accident, and for the insufficient first response," Park said in a statement to her cabinet that was broadcast on national television.