Captain of doomed ferry sentenced to life in prison
By HYUNG-JIN KIM

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — A South Korean appellate court on Tuesday handed down a sentence of life in prison to the captain of a ferry that sank last year, killing more than 300 people.

The sentencing is harsher than a November verdict by a district court that sentenced Lee Joon-seok to 36 years in prison for negligence and abandoning passengers in need. Victims' relatives criticized the verdict at the time saying it was too lenient. Prosecutors earlier had demanded the death penalty for Lee.

Lee's sentence was increased because the Gwangju High Court convicted him on homicide charges, according to court spokesman Jeon Ilho. In the November ruling, Lee was acquitted of homicide.

The appellate court sentenced 14 other navigation crew members to 18 months to 12 years in prison, Jeon said. In November they had received sentences of five to 30 years in prison.

Jeon said both prosecutors and the crew members have one week to appeal the verdicts.

Most of the victims were teenagers traveling to a southern island for a school trip. A total of 295 bodies have been retrieved but nine others are missing.

Many student survivors have said they were repeatedly ordered over a loudspeaker to stay on the sinking ship and that they didn't remember there any evacuation orders made by crewmembers before they helped each other to flee the ship. Lee has said he issued an evacuation order.

A year after the April 2014 sinking, the South Korean government is still reeling from lingering public criticism of its handling of the incident, the country's deadliest maritime disaster in decades. Violence occurred during a Seoul rally led by relatives and their supporters earlier this month, leaving dozens of people injured.

Last week, South Korea formally announced it would salvage the ship from the ocean floor off the country's southwest coast. Relatives of the victims hope that might locate the missing, including four students, and help reveal more details about the sinking. Some experts are skeptical about those wishes and remain opposed to spending taxpayer's money to lift the civilian vessel.

Officials say the salvage job is estimated to cost $91 million to $137 million and take 12 to 18 months.

Authorities blame excessive cargo, improper storage, botched negligence and other negligence for the sinking, and have arrested about 140 people. Critics say higher-level officials haven't been accountable.


-- (c) Associated Press 2015-04-28

Authorities blame excessive cargo, improper storage, botched negligence and other negligence for the sinking ...

How does one botch negligence?

Authorities blame excessive cargo, improper storage, botched negligence and other negligence for the sinking ...

How does one botch negligence?

The AP only hires the best proofreaders out there.....

I guess in Korea there is negligence, botched negligence and other negligence, as opposed to just plain old negligence out there. You know the Koreans, when they do it, they do it damn good!

I tried to be negligent once but I botched it. I also botched the one attempt I ever made at making a mistake, LOL.

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Authorities blame excessive cargo, improper storage, botched negligence and other negligence for the sinking ...

How does one botch negligence?

The AP only hires the best proofreaders out there.....

I guess in Korea there is negligence, botched negligence and other negligence, as opposed to just plain old negligence out there. You know the Koreans, when they do it, they do it damn good!

You omitted good negligence.

Beautiful news. He deserves the sentence. I understand he deliberately avoided asking the passengers to evacuate. What a fool. Lock him up.

It would be nice if here all boat captains and specially bus, mini van and tax drivers, who are responsible for accidents with casualties, would receive the same punishment.

It would be nice if here all boat captains and specially bus, mini van and tax drivers, who are responsible for accidents with casualties, would receive the same punishment.

I was thinking along those lines today as I was passing a VIP bus that was being driven very slowly and carefully. I thought to myself: "This guy must actually realise that the lives of the 30 or more passengers in his bus are all in his hands. Well done."

But what a rarity.

I always love the 'hang 'em high' contingent that surface after a disaster. Homicide requires intent. Negligence in not homicide. Neither is stupidity. But life in prison? In this case it may actually act as a deterent for other commerical seafaring captains. Tragedy all the way around.

It would be nice if here all boat captains and specially bus, mini van and tax drivers, who are responsible for accidents with casualties, would receive the same punishment.

I was thinking along those lines today as I was passing a VIP bus that was being driven very slowly and carefully. I thought to myself: "This guy must actually realise that the lives of the 30 or more passengers in his bus are all in his hands. Well done."

But what a rarity.

You ever try smoking yaba at 140km/h while you are drunk and trying to steer a bus? It ain't easy!

Thailand take note. This is how it is done. One foreign lesson Thailand needs to learn. The law forcing Thai people to take personal responsibility!!!!!

It would be nice if here all boat captains and specially bus, mini van and tax drivers, who are responsible for accidents with casualties, would receive the same punishment.

I was thinking along those lines today as I was passing a VIP bus that was being driven very slowly and carefully. I thought to myself: "This guy must actually realise that the lives of the 30 or more passengers in his bus are all in his hands. Well done."

But what a rarity.

I saw that just yesterday, Twice. Chinese tour buses going up Sukhumvit Soi 4. (Nana) Real slow!!