Ex-DPK leader calls for strengthening public safety measures on anniversary of ferry disaster

Former Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) leader Lee Jae-myung pledges fair competition in DPK's presidential primary race at the National Assembly in Seoul, Wednesday. Yonhap

Former Democratic Party of Korea leader Lee Jae-myung on Wednesday called for strengthening public safety measures as the nation marks the 11th anniversary of its worst-ever maritime disaster.

In a Facebook post, Lee mourned the victims of the 2014 Sewol ferry disaster, which claimed the lives of 304 on board, mostly high school students on a school field trip, when the overloaded 6,800-ton ship sank off the southwestern coast.

"Over the past three years, the state's most important responsibility of protecting the people's lives and safety has instead regressed," Lee wrote. "As the 11th spring (since), the state must now really uphold that responsibility.

"Let us make a country where no cost or interest can be prioritized over the people's safety and lives."

Lee is widely considered the front-runner for the June 3 presidential election, following former President Yoon Suk Yeol's removal from office this month over his short-lived imposition of martial law in December.