By Alex Jensen
SEOUL
Lee Geum-hee's tears appeared as fresh Wednesday as they did nearly a year ago, when she lost her teenage daughter -- one of 304 victims, mostly high school students -- in South Korea's Sewol ferry disaster.
Lee and other victims' relatives openly sobbed in front of reporters at a press conference in central Seoul, arranged to hear from families of those still missing.
To date, 295 bodies have been recovered -- leaving the loved ones of the nine unaccounted for feeling as though life has stood still.
"For us it's still April 16, 2014," Lee said, underlining that the president had "promised they wouldn't stop until the last person was found."
Meanwhile, a poster nearby is emblazoned with the message: "The Sewol, Just Salvage! Why Exactly Are They Still There?"
The brief answer is that the South Korean government has not yet decided on how and when the ferry's wreckage should be salvaged -- even though underwater search operations were abandoned last November when it was agreed with family members that they had become too dangerous.
Two divers lost their lives during searches, and then Oceans and Fisheries Minister Lee Ju-young expressed regret that Seoul had failed to keep its promise to find all of those still lost.
Four of the nine missing were students at Danwon High School on a field trip to the southern island of Jeju, a destination that they never reached after leaving Incheon on the night of April 15.
The other five include a six-year-old boy whose mother and father were also lost in the disaster -- his younger sister, now being raised by an aunt, reportedly survived when her brother gave her his life-vest.
Lee's 17-year-old daughter Cho Eun-hwa was considered a model student at Danwon High School.
Her mother told reporters that she took comfort from the fact that she had told her daughter how much she loved her, and was even able to speak to her by mobile phone as the ferry sank.
But Lee also insisted that she cannot "live or even die" until Cho's remains are recovered.
The Sewol disaster marked a paradigm shift for South Korean society, resulting in public outrage over the corruption and incompetence that contributed to the tragedy -- and calls for improved safety standards.
While multiple prison sentences have been handed down to several of the vessel's crew and background figures associated with its management, calls for justice and a fair investigation continue.
The government drew attention away from such complaints Wednesday by announcing the start of requests for compensation by those affected by the Sewol's sinking.
Families of victims could be eligible for more than 200 million won ($181,000); surviving students around 420 million, and teachers nearly double that.
Those gathered in Seoul Wednesday, however, refused to dwell on any issue beyond their sole concern: to find their loved ones and bring closure to a day that never ended.
