Cause of death undetermined
July 25, 2014
The National Forensic Service (NFS) announced on Friday that it had failed to determine the cause of death of Yoo Byun-eun, 73, whose body had been found in a remote area in the south of the country on June 12.
"It was impossible to conclude the cause of death since Yoo's body was in a very advanced stage of decomposition," NFS director Seo Joong-seok told a news conference in Seoul , according to the Yonhap news agency
The only thing that the NFS had been able to determine with certainty, Seo said, was that Yoo had not died due to the effect of drugs or a bite by a poisonous animal.
"It is possible in some cases involving decomposed bodies to determine the cause of death but, in Yoo Byung-eun's case, there was simply too much tissue damage so it was difficult to find leads that can determine the cause of death," Lee Han-young, a senior official at the agency, explained.
Criticism of investigation
The authorities have been facing growing criticism for how they have dealt with the investigation into the ferry disaster, in which more than 300 people, most of whom were high-school students, died after the vessel capsized while on the way to a southern resort island on April 16.
Investigators didn't even suspect the body was that of Yoo until recently and DNA testing confirmed his identity just this past week. As a result, police continued the country's biggest manhunt for weeks after they had his body.
One public prosecutor stepped down and two senior police officers were sacked ad a result, but opposition lawmakers have called on higher-level officials to resign over the case.
Yoo owned the Chonghaejin Marine Company which operated the ferry.
He had been on the run from police, who were seeking to question him on allegations of criminal negligence, embezzlement, and tax evasion.
More than a dozen of the ferry's crew members are currently on trial. these include the captain and three senior officers who are accused of "homicide through wilful negligence." If found guilty, they could face the death penalty.
pfd/msh (AP, Reuters, dpa)