

By Lee Han-soo

The driver of a tour bus involved in an accident in which 10 passengers were killed on a highway near Ulsan on Thursday is under fire for abandoning the passengers.

"It has been revealed that the driver, surnamed Lee, was the first to abandon the bus after the accident," Ulsan Ulju police said on Sunday.

Surviving passengers confirmed what happened.

"The driver broke the glass with a fire extinguisher and was the first to exit the bus," a survivor told Joongang Ilbo, a Korean daily.

"Even after abandoning the bus he just sat there doing nothing to help the other passengers."

Police have requested a warrant to charge Lee with professional negligence resulting in death.

The Ulsan District Court has issued the warrant.

"Lee initially said that he crashed into a guardrail after a flat tire," a police spokesman said.

"However, he later retracted his story and said he was trying to change lanes to enter Ulsan when the accident happened."

Anger continued to grow after it was revealed that Lee had 12 traffic violation charges, including driving without a license and drunk driving.

Bereaved families are demanding strict punishment for Taewha Tour, the company that employed Lee.

"Apart from the driver's negligence, Taewha Tour, who employed a repeated traffic offender, is also to blame for the accident," said one of the breaved.

"We cannot hold the funerals until we know that Taewha will be punished as well."