South Korea’s supreme court on Nov 11 upheld a life sentence for the captain of the "Sewol".
The Supreme Court upheld a lower court that sentenced Lee Joon-seok, 70, to life imprisonment for charges that included homicide.
The court ruled that Lee committed homicide by willful negligence, concluding he fled his ship without giving an evacuation order, although, as captain, he is required by law to take measures to save his passengers.
The court also upheld prison terms of 18 months to 12 years for 14 other crew members who faced similar charges of negligence and passenger abandonment, but weren’t found guilty of homicide because they were subject to Lee’s orders.
Lee has said he issued an evacuation order, but many survivors have said they were repeatedly ordered over a loudspeaker to stay on the sinking ferry and didn’t remember any evacuation orders before they escaped.
The court ruled there was stronger evidence showing that Lee did not issue an evacuation order, and that he abandoned his duties as captain.
Lee’s failure to take measures to save his passengers made it impossible for many to escape, the court said, meaning it was as if he had drowned them himself.
Divers recovered 295 bodies from the ship’s wreckage and nearby seas before the government stopped underwater searches in November last year.
Nine victims remained missing.
South Korea is paying $74 million to a consortium led by China’s state-run Shanghai Salvage Co. to handle the difficult job of raising the "Sewol". The government expects the ship to be salvaged by about July 2016.
The Supreme Court upheld a lower court that sentenced Lee Joon-seok, 70, to life imprisonment for charges that included homicide.
The court ruled that Lee committed homicide by willful negligence, concluding he fled his ship without giving an evacuation order, although, as captain, he is required by law to take measures to save his passengers.
The court also upheld prison terms of 18 months to 12 years for 14 other crew members who faced similar charges of negligence and passenger abandonment, but weren’t found guilty of homicide because they were subject to Lee’s orders.
Lee has said he issued an evacuation order, but many survivors have said they were repeatedly ordered over a loudspeaker to stay on the sinking ferry and didn’t remember any evacuation orders before they escaped.
The court ruled there was stronger evidence showing that Lee did not issue an evacuation order, and that he abandoned his duties as captain.
Lee’s failure to take measures to save his passengers made it impossible for many to escape, the court said, meaning it was as if he had drowned them himself.
Divers recovered 295 bodies from the ship’s wreckage and nearby seas before the government stopped underwater searches in November last year.
Nine victims remained missing.
South Korea is paying $74 million to a consortium led by China’s state-run Shanghai Salvage Co. to handle the difficult job of raising the "Sewol". The government expects the ship to be salvaged by about July 2016.