Lee, who was being questioned by police about his actions, has come under fire for apparently abandoning the ship 30 to 40 minutes after it began listing. A picture has been released apparently showing him leaving the ship, with the help of maritime police.
Lee has not commented publicly on the situation on the bridge at the time of the accident. On Thursday, he issued a brief apology to the relatives of the dead and missing: "I am really sorry and deeply ashamed. I don't know what to say."
It emerged on Friday that the crew had not acted immediately on an order by a local transportation office to tell passengers to put on life jackets and prepare to evacuate.
The order from officials on Jeju, the ferry's destination, came five minutes after the accident, but the crew did not tell passengers to leave the vessel for at least another 25 minutes. Some survivors said they did not hear any instructions to abandon the ship.
