South Korea polls widely seen as vote on handling of ferry disaster

SEOUL (Reuters) - South Koreans elect new local representatives on Wednesday in elections widely seen as a barometer of President Park Geun-hye's response to a ferry disaster in April that killed more than 300 people, most of them children from the same school.

The sinking of the Sewol has sidelined traditional campaign issues such as jobs, education and welfare, and instead focused voter attention on a fierce national debate over the government's failure to enforce oversight on safety.