A trilateral task force is likely to be nearing a deal over a bill that will provide financial aid to the victims of a deadly ferry accident in April that killed 304, officials said Tuesday.

Disagreements among members of the governing Saenuri Party, the main opposition New Politics Alliance for Democracy and the government are “relatively minor” over the potential bill, an aide to a senior NPAD lawmaker said.

A key detail in the wording of the legislation however remains a sticking point.

Saenuri lawmakers want the financial aid to be considered as a kind of compensation from the government, while the main opposition wants the funds to be considered as damages.

Compensation usually means that the awardees of any financial payment were victims of a disaster beyond their control, while damages would imply that there was a specific perpetrator who somehow violated the victims.

NPAD lawmakers say the Coast Guard botched the rescue operations after the ferry Sewol sank in the West Sea on April 16, thereby exacerbating the accident. However, Saenuri officials disagree.

Compromise plans over the controversial wording have been floated though, hinting that officials are keen on getting the bill passed in the National Assembly.

“Relief payments” is a word that could replace compensation or damages in terming the financial aid, according to officials.

The legislation of the special Sewol bill earlier this month will also help smoothen the bill’s passage, officials said. The special Sewol bill authorized a panel and a separate special prosecution team to investigate the disaster, to assuage claims that not every cause of the accident had been revealed.

But negotiations over the details of the bill the prolonged talks between the governing and main opposition parties. At the same time, the lengthy talks also put an end to many of the partisan disagreements that had plagued the parliament.

“Almost all of the disagreements over addressing the accident between the main parties have been ironed out in the special bill,” Rep. Yoo Sung-yop of the NPAD said.

By Jeong Hunny (hj257@heraldcorp.com)