Park was cited by Channel NewsAsia as saying at a televised news conference that the government made this decision in the hope of finding the bodies of the nine passengers who are still unaccounted for.
The shipwreck on April 16, 2015 claimed the lives of 304 people, mostly students who were travelling to a southern holiday island of Jeju, off Jindo Island. The bodies of 295 people have been retrieved.
Korea's Oceans Minister Yoo Ki-june told the same conference that the operation was likely to begin in September. The Oceans Ministry estimates that the works to hoist the ferry from the sea bottom will take 18 months and cost up to $137 million.
Last November, a South Korean court found the captain of the sunken vessel guilty of gross negligence and sentenced him to 36 years in jail. The 70-year-old abandoned the sinking ship.
