Grieving parents leave S. Korea ferry victims' rooms intact

Nearly a year after the tragedy involving a ship later found to have been overloaded and structurally unsound and a rescue operation widely seen to have been botched, emotions still run high among victims' families.

Anger and shame persist for many in a country that was traumatised by the disaster.

Legislation over an investigation into the sinking is snarled in political wrangling, amid public demands for the government to raise the ship and retrieve nine bodies still missing.

The government is likely to decide to salvage the vessel, Lee Wan-koo, the prime minister, told parliament on Monday.

Dong-hyuk's last message was filmed on a friend's cellphone, capturing the confusion of the moments before his death.

The ship, which had been bound for the holiday island of Jeju, was sinking as Dong-hyuk, wearing a life vest, said: "I have to say a last word before I die: Mom and Dad, I love you."

Kim, who works as a welder, said he considered suicide after his son's death. The family plans to retain the rest of Dong-hyuk's belongings, although the empty bed was too much to bear.

"He asked a relative to throw away Dong-hyuk's bed before coming back home from Jindo island because he felt like he couldn't walk into the house if the bed was still there," said Kim Sung-sil, the boy's mother.