President offers consolation to Malaysia after plane crash

President Park Geun-hye has expressed her condolences to Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak for the 298 people killed when Malaysian Airlines Flight MH17 was shot down in eastern Ukraine.

Park on Saturday said she felt “deep sadness and offered consolation to the prime minister and people of Malaysia, as well as the bereaved families of all the victims” and “prayed that Malaysia may soon recover from such sadness,” the Blue House said yesterday.

She also sent condolences to Netherlands Prime Minister Mark Rutte for the 189 Dutch who were killed when the Boeing 777 went down Thursday en route from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur.

The Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs expressed “shock and surprise,” saying in a statement it expected “an objective international investigation to be carried out immediately.”