Police searched the transport ministry’s office in the central city of Sejong on Friday, looking for fresh leads on the cause of the crash and whether officials handled it properly, news agency Yonhap reported.
The raid was linked to the main government investigation into the crash. The results are due to be announced by the middle of this year.
But other, parallel investigations have also been launched by various agencies and the South Korean parliament.
In recent months, investigators discovered body parts and victims’ belongings that had been put in sacks and stored alongside sacks of rubble collected from the accident site.
The victims’ families had been requesting a re-examination of the rubble removed from the site for months.
The latest discovery triggered public anger and prompted Lee to order an inquiry as to why the remains and belongings had not been detected earlier.
Lee also ordered disciplinary action against those responsible for delays in the recovery of human remains.
The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport has apologised but the victims’ families have refused to accept it.
“We are appalled by the transport ministry’s late and inadequate apology, which the families say is like killing the victims a second time,” a representative for the families said.
