Roundup: S.Korea marks first anniversary of Sewol tragedy with nationwide ceremonies

South Korea on Thursday marked the first anniversary of the Sewol ferry disaster, with nationwide memorial services being held by private organizations, schools and local governments.

On April 16, 2014, the 6,825-ton ferry Sewol capsized and sank off Jindo Island in the country's southwest, leaving 295 dead and nine still missing. Among 476 passengers aboard the ill-fated vessel were 325 students of Danwon High School on a school trip to Jeju Island. Among them, only 75 students survived.

About 300 private organizations and local governments held, or will hold, memorial ceremonies during the day to mourn for the deceased students and other victims.

Traveling on the road were about 2,800 taxis and buses, to which yellow ribbons were attached in memory of the victims. Many students went to school in uniform with a small badge of yellow ribbon in chest.

In the morning, more than 2,000 South Koreans visited the group memorial altar in Ansan City, Geyonggi Province, where the Danwon High School students came from. The number is expected to increase later in the day.

President Park Geun-hye visited Pengmok Harbor of Jindo Island, before leaving for Latin American countries for a state-visit. It was her second visit to the harbor, close to where the ferry is being sunken, since she came there on May 4, 2014.

Park, along with senior presidential secretaries, originally planned to meet family members of the victims and the missing, but the plan did not come through as the families temporarily closed the memorial altar and left the spot in protest against the government's response.

Family members of the victims and survivors were scheduled to hold their own memorial services at about 2 p.m. at the group memorial altar in Ansan, but they decided to delay it indefinitely until the government accepts their demands.

The committee for families of the April 16 ferry disaster has demanded the scrapping of the enforcement decree for a special committee to investigate the incident, announced on March 27 by the government.

The family members said the decree will hinder the fact-finding as it undermines independence of the committee. The executive order also restricted the scope of investigation to the analyzing and reviewing of the results of the government's investigation.

During her stay in the harbor, Park released a statement to the nation, vowing to rapidly take necessary measures to raise the vessel from the waters as soon as possible.

The salvaging of the vessel has been demanded by the victims' families as they believed it would help get to the bottom of the ferry sinking.

Park, however, failed to mention whether to scrap the enforcement decree, which the family members are strongly demanding to be nullified. She just said that additional investigations would be conducted after the investigative committee is launched.

Meanwhile, Moon Jae-in, chief of the main opposition New Politics Alliance for Democracy, visited the group memorial altar in Ansan at 8:30 a.m. along with other lawmakers, condoling with the bereaved families.

Prime Minister Lee Wan-koo visited the memorial altar, but he was blocked by the family members from entering the memorial altar as Lee refrained from giving a clear answer to calls for the scrapping of the decree.

On the eve of the first anniversary, a semi-official memorial service was held at the Pengmok Harbor. Yoo Seung-min, floor leader of the ruling Saenuri Party, failed to join the ceremony as family members of the victims strongly blocked his participation. Endi