The captain of the South Korean
ferry, Sewol, that sank in April with
the loss of more than 300 lives (a memorial is pictured above) is now starting a 36 year gaol sentence (see
my blog of April 20). Lee
Joon-seok, on trial with 14 crew members, was convicted of gross negligence. He
was cleared of homicide.
The chief engineer got
a 30 year sentence, and the other 13 got gaol terms of up to 20 years. A
separate trial is taking place for employees of the firm that operated the
ferry, but the billionaire chairman fled after the disaster and was later found
dead.
The sinking was blamed on a number of
factors - illegal redesigns of the vessel, overloading, failure to secure cargo
and the inexperience of the crew member steering. They led to her overturning as
she made a tight turn. Lee was filmed leaving while many passengers were still
inside the ship.
At least 3 crew members, though, perished trying to
save those on board, including an engaged couple, and the youngest, who gave
her lifejacket to a passenger. The Korean government was heavily criticised
over the rescue effort, and the coast guard is due to be disbanded and
replaced.
