South Korean Ferry Disaster: Captain Sentenced To 36 Years In Prison

Lee Jun-seok, the 69-year-old captain of the South Korean ferry “Sewol” that sunk last April killing more than 304 people, has been sentenced to 36 years in prison. Lee Jun-seok was found guilty of deserting the ship and its passengers at the time of a fatal crisis, reports The New York Times. The court verdict however did not find his crime serious enough to warrant a death penalty – which the prosecutors had sought for.

Judge Lim Joung-youb announcing the verdict said.

“The captain abandoned his passengers, knowing that they were waiting for instructions from the crew and that if they were not evacuated, their lives would be at risk.”

Three other senior members of the ill-fated ferry were also handed over prison sentences that range from 15 years to 30 years. These include: the first mate, Kang Won-sik; the second mate, Kim Young-ho; and the chief engineer, Park Gi-ho. Eleven other crew members were found guilty of for accidental homicide and criminal negligence, resulting in an 11 year prison sentence. Many of these were among the crew members who allegedly drank beer as the ferry started sinking, probably underestimating the seriousness of the crisis.

Relatives of the people who lost their loved ones in the tragedy were however unhappy with the verdict – saying that the judge was too lenient on the people who let the tragedy happen. Following investigations, it was revealed that the crew members of the ferry had asked the people on board the vessel not to evacuate as it started sinking. However, all of the 15 crew members escaped on the very first coast guard rescue boat that arrived at the scene. The people on board the ferry remained oblivious to the actual seriousness of the tragedy and stayed inside the vessel. When they figured that the ferry was in serious trouble, it was too late for many. An earlier Inquisitr report also showed students calmly walking inside the doomed ferry even as it had started listing. The video was recovered from the phone of a student who had died in the tragedy.

“You call that law? That’s nonsense,” several relatives of the victims shouted when the ruling was announced, The New York Times report adds. “Why don’t you just free them so we can punish them ourselves?” another person angrily shouted at the judge.

The trial of these 15 crew members of the sunken ferry was among the most followed legal cases that South Korea had ever witnessed. Court sessions were emotionally charged events where several parties broke down.

The captain and crew members of the ferry during the course of the trial accepted their guilt and apologized for their actions while adding that they had no intention to commit murder.

[Image via BBC News]