Death penalty sought for captain in South Korea ferry disaster

[webfact]

Death Penalty Sought for Captain in South Korea Ferry Disaster
By CHOE SANG-HUN

GWANGJU, South Korea — Prosecutors on Monday demanded the death penalty for the captain of the South Korean ferry that sank in April, killing 304 people in the country’s worst peacetime disaster in decades.

The 69-year-old captain, Lee Jun-seok, “did nothing to help rescue his passengers,” said Park Jae-eok, the chief prosecutor, during a court hearing in this city in southwestern South Korea. “Even after he himself was rescued by the coast guard, he did nothing to help the passengers. He even hid his identity from the coast guard.”

Prosecutors demanded life imprisonment for three other crewmen: the first mate, Kang Won-sik; the second mate, Kim Young-ho; and the chief engineer, Park Gi-ho. They called for 15 to 30 years for 11 other crew members.

In their final argument before a court verdict expected sometime next month, the prosecutors said that the 15 crew members of the 6,825-ton ferry Sewol knew that their ship was sinking and that the passengers were waiting inside the ship after repeated instructions for them to stay put.

Full story: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/28/world/asia/death-penalty-sought-for-captain-in-south-korea-ferry-disaster.html

-- The New York Times 2014-10-27

[bkkcanuck8]

Proper judgement. Any captain who abandons his ship leaving others behind before a ship sinks should face the same judgement. Similar to the old days (with the exception that once a ship has gone down there is no need for the captain to follow).

[kaobang]

what about the second and third in command(i think the third in command was an apprentice)

[bkkcanuck8]

what about the second and third in command(i think the third in command was an apprentice)

If they abandon ship and the captain does not - captain should be allowed to execute them (just like the old days).

Not sure what their punishment will be -- but really the captain is the law on the ship.... There have been too many cases recently of captains abandoning ships before their passengers - and that is completely unacceptable.

[copa8]

Proper judgement. Any captain who abandons his ship leaving others behind before a ship sinks should face the same judgement. Similar to the old days (with the exception that once a ship has gone down there is no need for the captain to follow).

Apparently not for that Italian captain of the Costa Concordia? He's giving seminars now: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/costa-concordia-captain-francesco-schettino-sparks-outrage-by-giving-lecture-on-managing-panic-at-rome-university-9651629.html

[rickirs]

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Proper judgement. Any captain who abandons his ship leaving others behind before a ship sinks should face the same judgement. Similar to the old days (with the exception that once a ship has gone down there is no need for the captain to follow).

Apparently not for that Italian captain of the Costa Concordia? He's giving seminars now: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/costa-concordia-captain-francesco-schettino-sparks-outrage-by-giving-lecture-on-managing-panic-at-rome-university-9651629.html

What judgement?

Francesco Schettino is free on bail during his trial. As such, there has been no judgment made with regard to his quilty or innocence. So other than restrictions that might be placed on him to comply with bail, he enjoys all the constitutional rights guanteed by a democratic government.

[orosee]

The death penalty here us an obvious attempt of the government to protect the higher up responsibles - connected businessmen and corrupt officials who devised and permitted rebuilding of the ferry to a state where it was no longer seaworthy, for the sake of profit.

The captain himself is guilty of passing on a dear sentence to passengers by ordering them to stay put, perhaps an error of judgment up to the point where he abandoned ship without rescinding the order. Not sure if he passed down the chain of command, or just left.

Sentences will be passed, business will go on as usual. Interests of the powerful remain protected. While relatives of the dead perform a hunger strike, right wing groups held an eat-all-you-can pizza feast in front of their eyes.

Whatever the sentences will be, justice will not be served. I'm hopeful that the relatives show the same stamina as the Korean sex slaves of the Japanese era and keep protesting.

That said, a mandatory death sentence for a captain who abandons ship is romantic foolishness.

[Ulic]

Personally I don't care who abandon ship. It is the ordering the people to stay below decks, slow response

to declare a mayday and give there location, and the company overloading the ferry that was modified and

basically made un-seaworthy. Hang the bastards including the company owner.

[IAMHERE]

Death is too good for the captain. He told those kids to go to their cabins and wait for him to give the 'ok'; then jumps ship. Those kids were taught all their lives to follow orders of their superiors, that captain should have his legs broken and put out to sea with nothing but his uniform. I"d pay to watch him drown on live-streaming. The money can go to the kids parents.