--- description: The U.S. President's Friday arrival in Seoul comes at a sensitive time in the Sewol's recovery effort title: Sewol Ferry Tragedy Could Overshadow Barack Obama's South Korea Visit image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt23068b57e98dfeee/69868c7ce8524b851d602927/president-obama-south-korea.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [South Korea](/tag/south-korea/) ## South Korea Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Ferry Tragedy Could Overshadow Obama's South Korea Visit ## Video: Ferry Death Toll Climbs Above 100 [Watch (HLS stream): Ferry Death Toll Climbs Above 100](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/TklqEMi1.m3u8) (1:38)  _Published 2014-04-22. More than 100 people have been confirmed dead in the wake of the horrific ferry disaster off the coast of South Korea. While the captain and two others have been charged in the ship’s sinking, some crew members now say they couldn’t reach lifeboats._ by [Per Liljas](/author/per-liljas/) ## Per Liljas Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Apr 25, 2014 6:44 AM CUT  President Obama pauses for a moment of silence for those who died in the ferry disaster as Obama and South Korean President Park Geun-hye, participate in the bilateral meetings at the Blue House, April 25, 2014, in Seoul. President Obama pauses for a moment of silence for those who died in the ferry disaster as Obama and South Korean President Park Geun-hye, participate in the bilateral meetings at the Blue House, April 25, 2014, in Seoul.Carolyn Kaster—AP by [Per Liljas](/author/per-liljas/) ## Per Liljas Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Apr 25, 2014 6:44 AM CUT The tragedy of the sunken ferry _Sewol_ [could eclipse](http://bigstory.ap.org/article/obama-rejects-notion-trade-deal-danger "undefined") topics otherwise expected to top the agenda during U.S. President Barack Obama’s state visit to South Korea. The White House has stated that Obama will not change his schedule, and he is still expected to discuss matters of trade and security — warning against North Korean nuclear provocations and calling for defused tensions in the region’s territorial disputes. But his arrival Friday comes at a sensitive time for the _Sewol_ recovery effort. Officials are currently mulling a plan to raise the submerged vessel, before the remaining bodies become overly decomposed. However, relatives of the more than 140 still missing passengers are [outraged](http://bigstory.ap.org/article/classes-begin-skorean-school-full-mourning "undefined") that those bodies haven’t already been retrieved. In a tense exchange Thursday, family members surrounded senior officials visiting the docks where the rescue operations are based, leveling heated accusations and preventing the officials from leaving. Family members say that more volunteer divers should have been allowed to participate in the mission, despite the risks that have already seen several professional divers being treated for decompression sickness. Rescue officials counter that volunteers slow down the rescue process and are not able to stay underwater for long enough in the cold, murky and dangerous conditions. Meanwhile, prosecutors [have raided](http://www.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20140424001313 "undefined") the offices of the Salvation Sect, a religious group they believe is led by the owner of the ill-fated ferry, billionaire Yoo Byung-eun. Reports claim that Yoo used the church’s funds to set up his business, in order to gain jobs for members and to increase his personal wealth. Established in the 1960s by Yoo’s father-in-law, the Salvation Sect has grown to include some 100 churches in South Korea and about 200,000 members worldwide. Many senior employees of Chonghaejin Marine, the company operating the _Sewol_ – including the ferry’s now arrested captain – are devout members. Yoo is a controversial figure in South Korea, having been jailed for fraud in the 1990s and investigated for his involvement in a suspected mass suicide of 30 of the Salvation Sect’s members in 1987. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/76931/obama-south-korea-visit-ferry-sewol/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/76931/obama-south-korea-visit-ferry-sewol/"},"headline":"Ferry Tragedy Could Overshadow Obama's South Korea Visit","datePublished":"2014-04-25T06:44:48.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-21T07:29:59.663Z","description":"President Obama's arrival in South Korea comes at a sensitive time as officials mull a salvage operation for the sunken Sewol ferry, a deadly tragedy that has pushed a nation deep into mourning and threatens to overshadow trade and security talks","url":"https://time.com/76931/obama-south-korea-visit-ferry-sewol/","keywords":["South Korea","Barack Obama","Asia","ferry disaster"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt23068b57e98dfeee/69868c7ce8524b851d602927/president-obama-south-korea.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Per Liljas","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/per-liljas/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt23068b57e98dfeee/69868c7ce8524b851d602927/president-obama-south-korea.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"President Obama pauses for a moment of silence for those who died in the ferry disaster as Obama and South Korean President Park Geun-hye, participate in the bilateral meetings at the Blue House, April 25, 2014, in Seoul.","caption":"President Obama pauses for a moment of silence for those who died in the ferry disaster as Obama and South Korean President Park Geun-hye, participate in the bilateral meetings at the Blue House, April 25, 2014, in Seoul.","creditText":"Carolyn Kaster—AP","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/south-korea/","name":"South Korea"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/76931/obama-south-korea-visit-ferry-sewol/","name":"Ferry Tragedy Could Overshadow Obama's South Korea Visit"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Ferry Death Toll Climbs Above 100","description":"More than 100 people have been confirmed dead in the wake of the horrific ferry disaster off the coast of South Korea. While the captain and two others have been charged in the ship’s sinking, some crew members now say they couldn’t reach lifeboats.","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/TklqEMi1/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2014-04-22T16:26:37.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/TklqEMi1.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/76931/obama-south-korea-visit-ferry-sewol/","duration":"PT1M38S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/76931/obama-south-korea-visit-ferry-sewol/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```