Parents of the students who died in a passenger ferry that sank in April solemnly marched toward the presidential palace of South Korea early Friday morning to demand a meeting with President Park Geun-hye.

Riot police prevented the grieving parents and family members from approaching the palace. They instead settled in the middle of the road where they cried and angrily shouted while holding their children's portraits, according to Stuff.co.nz.

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Park's regime has been lambasted by the ferry victims' relatives for the way the case is being handled. Many of the families believe more passengers could have survived if a faster initial response were implemented.

Because it was overloaded and was also running too fast on a turn, the Sewol ferry capsized and sank some 20 kilometers southwest of Incheon on its way to Jeju island. Hundreds of children and teachers attending a high school outing died in the disaster.

The ferry carried an estimated 476 people including passengers and crew. With only 172 rescued, the rest of those on board are already presumed dead.

Some of the crew members, including the ferry's captain, were recorded on video jumping ship while the passengers were told several times to stay in their cabin and wait for further instructions.

Prosecutors are now pursuing the son and daughter of Yoo Byung-un, who heads the family that owns the ferry operator Chonghaejin Marine. The government has also begun cancelling the company's license to operate ferries.

According to an official, Yoo's son Hyuck-ki is believed to be in the US and has not responded three times to a summons sent by the prosecution. Yoo's other assistants are also believed to be out of the country and have not responded to the summonses as well.

Some of the ferry operator's officials, including the Chonghaejin chief, have already been arrested on Thursday and are facing charges of negligence causing death and the sinking of the ferry.

The ferry's 15 surviving staff members, including the captain, have also been arrested on charges of gross negligence. They have been accused of abandoning the ferry without implementing emergency escape protocol.

As of now, the prosecution is teaming up with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Department of Homeland Security to extradite Yoo Hyuck-ki from the US.