By Jung Min-ho
The team searching the ferry Sewol found a gold tooth in rubble recovered from a room on the ferry’s fourth deck near the stern over the weekend.
The tooth was initially reported to belong to Cho Eun-hwa, one of the nine missing passengers of the ferry sinking, but the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries said a DNA test is required for confirmation, which is expected to take about a month.
Over the past five days, search workers have recovered human bones from the 6,825-ton ferry, which sank off the island of Jindo three years ago and left more than 300 people dead.
On Thursday, search workers found Cho’s bag containing a mobile phone, a wallet and a pen in the same room.
Another missing student, Huh Da-yoon, reportedly shared the room with her.
One of the people who reacted to the news was the “heartbroken” President Moon Jae-in. In an article comment section, he said Friday he is hoping for the recovery of all the missing bodies.
Given that much of the incident still remains a mystery, Moon may soon order the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries to reinvestigate the case.
The disaster and its aftermath gripped the nation and overshadowed former President Park Geun-hye, who stayed at her residence for the crucial first seven hours of the sinking. What she was doing at that time is still unknown.
Park was impeached over a massive influence-peddling scandal involving her confidant Choi Soon-sil, and is now standing trial for corruption and giving state secrets to an unauthorized person, Choi.
The sinking was blamed on a combination of the inexperience of the crew members, cargo overloading, an illegal redesign and lax government regulations.