Thousands of Protesters 'Will Not Sit Still' Over South Korea Ferry Disaster

Up to 50,000 protesters marched down the streets of central Seoul, South Korea today as part of a continuing nationwide movement rallying against the government's handling of the Sewol ferry disaster last month.

Demonstrators toted candles and placards and shouted fiercely in support of the families of more than 300 victims who died when the Sewol capsized on April 16, according to South Korean media.

Video uploaded to social media showed crowd members chanting, "We will not sit still," in reference to the ferry captain's immediate orders to the more than 450 passengers aboard, many of them students on a field trip — after the boat hit trouble.

Multiple demonstrations with the "stay still" theme have broken out across the country since the tragedy — which is considered one of the deadliest disasters in the nation's history.

Thousands march in Seoul to protest ferry disaster response. Read more here.

South Korean Prime Minister Chun Hong-won resigned in the days following the incident, amid rising indignation from families claiming the government failed to adequately protect or rescue the victims, the Associated Press reported.

But the gesture was seemingly symbolic, as the country's executive powers reside principally with the country's president.

A group of protesters were dragged away by police after they scaled a statue in Seoul on May 8.

Politicians will pay for the Korean ferry disaster. Read more here.

Prosecutors indicted captain Lee Joon-seok, the ferry's first mate, second mate and chief engineer on homicide charges on Thursday, and charged 11 other crewmembers with negligence and abandoning ship, according to the AP.

Lee was not on the bridge at the time his third mate, who was left in charge of steering the ferry, took a sharp turn and the boat began to list dangerously before capsizing into cold waters.

Escaping a sinking ferry in South Korea. Watch the VICE News video here.

The Republic of Korea Coast Guard on April 28 released footage of the captain of the Sewol ferry leaving the ship as it sank off the southwest coast.

Passengers were initially ordered to remain below deck and stay in their cabins.

Following half an hour of indecision and miscommunication with marine traffic control, Lee eventually issued evacuation orders, but it is not known whether the message was communicated to those on board.

Lee was one of the first to escape the ferry in a rescue boat in his underwear.

Only 172 people survived the incident, while 20 remain missing presumed dead and the bodies of the rest have been recovered, according to media reports.

Follow Liz Fields on Twitter: @lianzifields