Lee Joon-seok, the captain of the sunken South Korean ferry Sewol, at Gwangju High Court (AP)
The South Korean ferry captain responsible
for last year's disaster that killed more than 300 people, mostly
schoolchildren, has been given an increased sentence of life in prison
by an appellate court that convicted him of homicide.
A district court in November had
sentenced Lee Joon-seok to 36 years in prison for negligence and
abandoning passengers in need, but acquitted him of homicide. Victims'
relatives criticised 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 of the homicide charges while upholding
most of other charges that led to his November conviction, according to
a court statement.
Lee committed "homicide by wilful
negligence" because he fled the ship without making any evacuation
order, though he, as a captain, is required by law to take some measures
to rescue his passengers, the statement said.
"For whatever excuses, it's difficult to
forgive Lee Joon-seok's action that caused a big tragedy," the court
statement cited the verdict as saying.
The appellate court sentenced 14 other
navigation crew members to prison terms ranging from 18 months to 12
years, the statement said. In November, they had received sentences of
five to 30 years in prison.
Lee and the 14 crew members have been the
subject of fierce public anger because they were among the first people
rescued from the Sewol when it began badly listing on the day of the
sinking in April last year.
Most of the victims were teenagers who were en route to a southern island for a school trip.
Lee has said he issued an evacuation order.
But many student survivors have said that they were repeatedly ordered
over a loudspeaker to stay on the sinking ferry and that they did not
remember any evacuation orders by crew members before they helped each
other flee the ship.
In November, the Gwangju District Court
supported Lee's claim to have made an evacuation order and said there
was not proof that he knew his escape from the ship would cause a
massive loss of life.
But the appellate court overturned that
ruling, saying Lee did not take other necessary steps to save passengers
that he should have taken if he indeed issued an evacuation order.
The court also said two of the 14
navigation crew members acknowledged that there was no evacuation order
and that there were loudspeaker broadcasts asking passengers to stay
inside even while Lee was fleeing the ship.
Court spokesman Jeon Ilho said prosecutors and the crew members have one week to appeal the verdicts.
A year after the sinking, 295 bodies have
been retrieved, but nine others are missing. There is still lingering
public criticism against the government over its handling of the
sinking, the country's deadliest maritime disaster in decades.
South Korea announced last week that it
would salvage the ship off the country's south-west coast at an
estimated cost of 91 million dollars (£59.6 million) to 137 million
dollars (£89.9 million). Relatives of the victims hope the salvaging
will locate the missing and help reveal more details about the sinking.
Authorities blame excessive cargo, improper
storage and negligence for the sinking. Critics say higher-level
officials have not been accountable.
Press Association
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