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[Dram]

http://news.yahoo.com/korean-ferry-captain-gets-36-years-prison-053657461.html

Enraged parents wept and screamed as a judge sentenced a South Korean ferry captain to 36 years in prison Tuesday for negligence and abandoning passengers when his ship sank earlier this year, killing more than 300 people, mostly high school students.

More than half-a-year after the ferry sank, the country still grapples with recriminations over claims that authorities' incompetence during rescue efforts, along with the greed, corruption and lack of interest in safety of government regulators and the ship's owners and operators, doomed the victims.

Most of the ferry passengers were teenagers taking a school trip to a southern island, and many student survivors have said they were repeatedly ordered over a loudspeaker to stay on the sinking ship and that they didn't remember any evacuation order being given before they helped each other flee the vessel.

The Gwangju District Court in southern South Korea concluded in its verdict that Lee had issued an evacuation order and that he left the ship after rescue boats arrived on the scene.

An official from the Justice Ministry, who requested anonymity because of office rules, said Lee, 69, will technically be eligible for parole after serving one-third of his prison sentence.

The court sentenced the ship's chief engineer to 30 years in prison, and 13 other crew members got sentences of between five years and 20 years in prison, the court statement said.

The engineer, Park Ki-ho, was convicted of homicide because he abandoned two injured colleagues, escaped the ferry and failed to tell rescuers about them, even though he knew they would die without help, the court said.

However, it cleared two other crew members of homicide charges for the same reasons it acquitted the captain. Those crew members got 15 and 20 years in prison, it said.

Prosecutors and the crew members have one week to appeal, according to the court. Relatives of the victims said in a statement they will ask prosecutors to appeal the ruling, but senior prosecutor Park Jae-eok said his office hasn't yet made a decision

Nearly seven months after the sinking, 295 bodies have been recovered but nine are missing. Officials said Tuesday they've ended searches because there was only a remote chance of finding more bodies while worries have grown over the safety of divers. Two civilian divers have died after falling unconscious during searches.

Authorities blamed overloaded cargo, improper storage, untimely rescue efforts and corruption by the ship's owners that prevented enough spending on safety, along with the crew members' behavior, for the sinking.

The ship's billionaire owner was found dead about four months ago after fleeing arrest, and three of his relatives were sentenced last week to up to three years in prison for corruption. Last Friday, South Korean lawmakers approved plans to disband the coast guard and transfer its responsibilities.

 

[DemiMatt]

If this was the US I feel like those responsible would go unpunished.

 

[DUFFMCWALIN]

If this was the US I feel like those responsible would go unpunished.

Are you serious? These people aren't bank CEO's or politicians. They would have been punished.

 

[AkuMifune]

Not good enough unless he serves his time in North Korea.

If this was the US I feel like those responsible would go unpunished.

This isn't Norway. We LOVE to punish people.

 

[smurfx]

If this was the US I feel like those responsible would go unpunished.

no the captain would be punished and the owners of the company would probably get a slap on the wrist. that's usually how things play out here.

 

[inky]

If this was the US I feel like those responsible would go unpunished.

Captain & Crew =/= Suits

This shit is sad all around.

 

[bobeth]

What a nightmare. Hopefully this will result in safer sea teavel for south Koreans...

 

[LiveFromKyoto]

Are you serious? These people aren't bank CEO's or politicians. They would have been punished.

"The ship's billionaire owner was found dead about four months ago after fleeing arrest, and three of his relatives were sentenced last week to up to three years in prison for corruption. Last Friday, South Korean lawmakers approved plans to disband the coast guard and transfer its responsibilities."

Billionaires and the military. All these dudes would skate in the US.

 

[Valkerionseven]

What a nightmare. Hopefully this will result in safer sea teavel for south Koreans...

Their safety budget is being cut next year -.- The ferry gets all the attention but those of us who check in on Korean news every now and then know 2014 was basically a year of public safety accidents almost every month.

Either way there was a lot more going on with this than just the sinking, so many issues of corruption were brought to light as a result as well, not that people did not know about dirty business people/politicians/military but was seemingly the last straw for most. Even worse is it does not seem to be on the track to change given how long this took, and half the government not even wanting the sinking investigated.

 

[Corgi]

still mixed on this. It's sad how the actual evil dudes gets a few years for corruption when I bet this captain guy is a decent enough guy that just made the worst decision at the spur of the moment ever gets the worst of it.

But thats how the world works. Safety budgets aren't gonna be improved in korea, and corruption will probably be back in full force asap. And probalby another incident like this will happen.

 

[old]

If this was the US I feel like those responsible would go unpunished.

I would guess the people would go unpunished and the business would get sued. The business would stall and delay the suit for 5+ years. Then eventually either one of two things happen: 1) the business gets a large judgement against them that they appeal and eventually get lowered to a pittance; or 2) they agree to a settlement where the payment is undisclosed and the business admits no wrongdoing.

But to keep it on SK, 36 years seems pretty big. Are the victims appealing for more?

 

[speculawyer]

Seems just. He'll die in prison.

I know a lot of people wanted him executed but it is not like it was his desire to have this happen (but he was grossly negligent).

 

[Tesseract]

what a tragedy, all around.

owners dead, divers, cruisers and crew, ...

depressing tale, this.

 

[speculawyer]

Not good enough unless he serves his time in North Korea.



This isn't Norway. We LOVE to punish people.

We are pretty bad about punishing high-level people for white collar crimes & fraud.