INVESTIGATORS pointed the finger at South Korean government “negligence and corruption” today as partly responsible for the April 16 sinking of a ferry and the loss of 304 lives.

The official report cited lax regulation, poor safety inspections and a slow and badly coordinated coastguard response as factors contributing to the disaster.

Eleven officials have been referred to prosecutors on corruption charges and dozens more face possible legal action.

A total of 293 bodies, mainly school students, have been recovered from the ferry and 11 passengers remain unaccounted for.

Two separate trials, one for the ferry captain and crew, and another for the head of the ferry company and other officials, began last month.

The government’s audit and inspection board reported that the regional port administration had licensed the ferry even though it had been illegally converted so as to carry more cargo.

South Korea’s Register of Shipping, appointed by the government to inspect ships, also failed to carry out proper safety check-ups.

The report also blamed the coastguard for missing a crucial period to rescue passengers and botching its rescue operations. 

It failed to maintain proper communication with the ferry and issued confused rescue orders.

At the trial of the ferry captain and crew members in Gwangju, prosecutors said yesterday that the passenger deaths could have been avoided had the crew acted differently. 

The gallery was packed with parents of victims, who jeered and shouted at the defendants when a video of the captain and crew jumping into a rescue boat was shown.