South Korea is offering a $50,000 reward for information about a missing man said to be the owner of the ferry that capsized last month, killing nearly 300 people, the Associated Press reported.
Authorities believe Yoo Byung-eun, a 73-year-old billionaire, is the owner of the ferry Sewol that sank off the coast of South Korea on April 16. Most of the 476 passengers were high school students on their way to a resort on the island Jeju.
Since then several others have been arrested in connection to the ferry, including the captain, crewmen and employees of the company which owns the ferry. The captain, Lee Joon-seok, has been charged with manslaughter and could face the death penalty.
Investigators suspected Yoo was hiding out at the compound of the Evangelical Baptist Church near Seoul, which is said to be a cult and connected to a mass suicide in 1987. But the billionaire was not found on church grounds after its members allowed police to conduct a search on Wednesday, the AP reported.
Prosecutors announced a 50 million won ($50,000) reward for Yoo and 30 million ($30,000) won for his son, who is also missing.
Yoo is believed to be the chairman of the company Chonghaejin, which owns the sunken ferry, prosecutor Kim Hoe-jong said according to the AP.
Chonghaejin is no longer operating, but Yoo is reportedly still running the company through other holding companies that his children have invested in.
The official cause of the ferry Sewol's sinking has not been announced, but investigators suspect the ferry was loaded with three-times the cargo limit the day it capsized.
Prosecutors also say Chonghaejin did not spend money on proper safety measures and hiring staff because it was illegally paying off Yoo's family, the AP reported.
In addition to professional negligence, Yoo is accused of embezzlement and tax evasion, the AP reported.
