Sewol divers furious over pay-per-body

By Ko Dong-hwan

Civilian divers still retrieving bodies from sunken Sewol ferry are enraged over presidential spokesman Min Kyung-wook’s alleged comment about how much they are being paid.

In his comment, reportedly made at a lunch with journalists on Saturday and which national wires reported on Sunday, he claimed that the divers agreed with the government to be paid 1 million won daily plus 5 million for each body they retrieved.

The divers blasted the comment as a lie, “humbug” and “insulting,” while the victims’ families are incredulous.

Bae Hui-cheol, a lawyer representing the family emergency committee in Jindo, South Jeolla Province, refused to comment on the controversy.