No cause of death on S. Korea ferry owner

South Korea's forensic agency said on Friday it was impossible to determine the cause of death of a businessman linked to a ferry that sank and killed 304 people in April.

On Tuesday, police said that a badly decomposed body found in a rural area last month had been identified as Yoo Byung-eun. Police cited DNA and fingerprint tests taken by the National Forensic Service. Authorities had sought the 73-year-old, believing he owned the sunken ferry and that his alleged corruption may have contributed to the Sewol disaster.

The forensic service said Friday that it has conducted additional tests on Yoo's body but couldn't discover the exact cause of his death because the body was too decayed.

Agency chief Seo Joong-seok and other forensic doctors told a televised news conference that they did not find any evidence showing that Yoo was poisoned, suffocated or died of external pressures or any disease. Police have said they haven't found any evidences that Yoo was murdered.

Kang Shin-mong, a forensic expert at the Catholic University of Korea's School of Medicine, said after the agency's announcement it was possible Yoo died of hypothermia, citing his age and a history of diabetes.

The discovery of Yoo's body fueled public criticism against the government following revelations authorities did not suspect the body found June 12 could be Yoo's until recently and had continued a massive manhunt for him. Yoo was wanted on charges of embezzlement, negligence and tax evasion.

A high-level prosecutor resigned and two senior police officers were dismissed from their posts amid the criticism but South Korean media said higher-level officials must step down. On Thursday family members of the Sewol ferry victims, accompanied by nuns, marched to National Assembly in Seoul to show their dissatisfaction with the authorities.

Yoo headed the family that owned the operator of the ferry, which capsized and sank on April 16 on a routine journey. Many of those killed were children from the same school on a class trip.

The Sewol's 15 surviving crew members, including the captain, are on trial on charges ranging from negligence to homicide.

Wire services