South Korean Prime Minister Resigns over Ferry Sinking

South Korean Prime Minister Chung Hong-won has resigned amid criticism of the government's response to the April 16 ferry disaster.

The Sewol ferry sank off South Korea on April 16, with 476 people on board, most of them students and teachers from Danwon High School near Seoul, who had gone on a field trip, according to reports of the CNN.

The confirmed death toll by Sunday stood at 187, with 115 people still missing.

The government has been criticized for the slow pace of the recovery operation and for the conflicting information on the disaster.

"Keeping my post is too great a burden on the administration," Chung said in a statement on Sunday morning. "On behalf of the government, I apologize for many problems from the prevention of the accident to the early handling of the disaster."

As the investigation of the prosecuting authority into the cause of the sinking continues, all 15 surviving crew members involved in the navigation of the ferry are in custody, facing charges ranging from criminal negligence to abandoning passengers.