By Lee Hyo-sik





The late Yang Dae-hong

The body of a 45-year-old Sewol crewmember, who died while working to save passengers on the ill-fated ferry, has been found 30 days after the ferry sank off the country's southern coast.

Divers searching the sunken ship recovered the body of Yang Dae-hong Thursday afternoon, Incheon City said Friday.

His body was immediately transported to a morgue set up on Jindo Island, South Jeolla Province, and then to a hospital in Incheon where his family lives.

Yang is one of the two Sewol crewmembers who remained on the ferry to help passengers try to escape to safety, unlike Captain Lee Joon-seok and other crewmembers who abandoned the sinking ship.

The body of the other crewmember, Park Ji-young, 22, who drowned after aiding young passengers in escaping the ferry, was among the first to be recovered on April 16, the day the Sewol capsized.

Yang began working at Chonghaejin Marine, which owns the ferry Sewol, in 2010 as a purser responsible for the welfare of the passengers.

Right before returning to the sinking ship, he told his wife on the phone ''I cannot speak for long. I have to go to save the children,'' according to his family.

Yang also said the ferry was about to sink and instructed his wife to use the money in his bank account as tuition for their children.

The Incheon Western District Office plans to file a petition next week with the Ministry of Health and Welfare to officially honor Yang for his heroic act. If honored, his body will be buried at the national cemetery and family members will receive compensation and other benefits from the government.

Already, Park and two part-timers working on the ferry Sewol, Kim Gi-woong and Jeong Hyun-seon, who died while helping passengers evacuate, have been honored.