President Park Geun-hye of South Korea formally apologized on Monday for the Sewol ferry disaster that killed almost 300 passengers last month, and announced that she would dissolve the coast guard because it was unsuccessful in doing its rescue mission.

In a televised national address, Park said the rescue duties of the coast guard will be assigned to a national emergency safety agency that she will establish, while its investigative functions will be given to the national police.

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Park said sorry to the entire nation for all the suffering and pain that the ferry accident caused, and she believes that it is her duty as the president to be responsible for the lives and safety of all the citizens of South Korea.

The Sewol ferry, containing 476 passengers and crew staff on board, tipped over and sank on April, taking the lives of approximately 286 people, most of them high school students. A total of 18 people remain missing in what is considered as the worst civilian sea disaster in South Korea in two decades.

About 339 passengers who boarded the ferry were school children and teachers from a high school near Seoul who were on a field trip. Only 172 individuals were rescued, while the rest are believed to have sunk with the ferry.

The captain and some members of the crew were caught on video as they were abandoning the vessel after ordering the school children to remain in their cabins until further instructions were given.

The president had personally apologized to most relatives of the victims, but her government continues to face criticism and nationwide outrage over the handling of the disaster, as citizerns believe a more abrupt initial action could have probably saved more lives.

Park said that the coast guard did not only fail in its duty to search and rescue the victims, but the agency would be unable to avert any future massive sea disaster that may occur.

She added that while the coast guard kept getting bigger in terms of size, its personnel and budget allocation for safety did not improve and its rescue training was not enough.

The ferry's captain and three senior crew members were charged with homicide last week, while 11 other crew members were charged with negligence.