Lee Joon-seok, 68, is accused of leaving the ship as it was sinking while telling passengers to stay put, reports Yonhap news agency.

 

He was among the first to be rescued by coast guards at the scene.

 

The Sewol ferry disaster on 16 April killed 281 passengers, most of whom were high school students. Another 23 are still missing.

 

Besides Mr Lee, three crew members - the chief engineer, the chief mate and the second mate - are also being charged with manslaughter. If convicted, they could face life imprisonment¹.

 

"The [four people charged] escaped before the passengers, leading to grave casualties," prosecutor² Ahn Sang-don told journalists. 

 

Prosecutors³ have indicted⁴ another 11 crew members for negligence⁵. 

 

Only 172 passengers survived the sinking of the ferry, including 22 of the 29 crew members.

 

 

The authorities have also arrested several people who were not on the ferry at the time of sinking. 

 

These include five officials of the ferry owner, Chonghaejin Marine⁷ Company, and an employee of a private safety device inspection⁸ company. 

 

The latter is suspected of conducting poor inspections⁹ of the ferry's safety equipment.

 

South Korea, meanwhile, is looking to reform its safety and emergency response system in the wake of the ferry's sinking.

 

President Park Geun-hye said on Tuesday that the government would soon release details of this move, said Yonhap.

 

She has previously¹⁰ apologised for the way the government handled the incident, amid questions over the initial rescue effort.

 

Following the recent death of a civilian¹¹ rescue diver, Seoul also plans to provide psychological help for rescue workers "suffering from physical and mental agony", said local media.

 

It comes amid reports the ship, submerged for nearly a month, has begun to deteriorate¹², making it even more difficult for divers¹³ to search for bodies.

 

Officials said that divers had spotted¹⁴ walls "getting weaker and about to collapse¹⁵". Rescue workers are now plotting new routes through the hull¹⁶.

 

Earlier reports said that some bodies had floated away from the ship, prompting workers to deploy¹⁷ nets around the site.

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