A nation remains in shock more than a week after a disastrous accident. As more bodies are recovered from the wreck of the sunken ferry, South Korea's government has also experienced a shake-up, an aftershock of the ship's sinking.

An announcement released last Sunday stated that South Korea's prime minister Chung Hong-Won resigned. According to the AFP, the prime minister tendered his resignation because of the handling of the rescue effort following the sinking of the ferry on April 16. The ferry, which had been carrying high school students to an island resort for a school field trip, sank with over 400 people on board.

"I offer my apology for having been unable to prevent this accident from happening and unable to properly respond to it afterwards," said Chung during his announcement. "I believed I, as the prime minister, certainly had to take responsibility and resign."

Although the government has engaged all its resources to recover the bodies of those still within the sunken ship, many South Koreans criticize their government's actions, according to the AFP.

"I wanted to resign earlier, but handling the situation was the first priority and I thought that it was a responsible act to help before leaving," stated Chung. "But I've decided to resign now not to be any burden on the administration."

However, the government's burden remains the same and, as more bodies are recovered from the wreck, more pain is felt. More than 300 people were trapped inside the ship when it capsized. CNN reports that in the latest recovery efforts, rescue crews discovered the bodies of 48 girls trapped inside a room meant for a maximum of 30 passengers.

This latest discovery, explains CNN, highlights the hardship awaiting rescue divers as they continue their search. Divers have had to break windows to gain access to parts of the ship.

"The rescue effort is getting slower," said South Korean navy Capt. Kim Jin-hwang, commander of the rescue operation. "The divers already searched all the places easily accessible. They are expecting the search to become harder because of increasing currents and harsher weather, but the navy will not stop until the last body is found."

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