(LEAD) Moon vows continued efforts to find truth of 2014 Sewol ferry sinking

(ATTN: UPDATES with Moon's request for recommendation of special prosecutor candidate in 6th para)

SEOUL, April 16 (Yonhap) -- President Moon Jae-in reaffirmed Friday he will endeavor "till the last" to ensure that the truth behind the tragic Sewol ferry sinking in 2014 will be fully discovered.

"I am still sorry (for the victims)," he wrote on his social media accounts, commemorating the seventh anniversary of the incident that killed 304 people, many of whom were high school students.

"Only truth will prevent such a tragedy and bring forward a society in which life is precious," he added.

Last year, the National Assembly revised a special law on finding facts of the incident and an independent counsel team will be formed, which offer an opportunity to move one step closer to the truth, Moon noted.

"I will take care until the last to find out the truth through the Special Investigation Committee on Social Disaster," he added.

Moon then made a formal request for a relevant panel of the National Assembly to recommend candidates for the special prosecutor position, deputy Cheong Wa Dae spokesperson Lim Se-eun said later in the day.

The ferry sank off the southwestern coast of the peninsula on April 16, 2014. Most of the victims were teenagers on a school trip to Jeju Island.

A controversy ensued over the then Park Geun-hye administration's handling of the incident, especially the rescue and search operations.

Evidence of negligence by the Coast Guard and the ship's captain and crew was found in a probe.

lcd@yna.co.kr
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