[BIG STORY] Should The Captain Of Capsized Sewol Ferry Face The Death Penalty?
On Monday, during closing arguments in the trial of the crew, South Korean prosecutors called for the captain of the ferry "Sewol" that sank in April to receive the death penalty.
By Sadho Ram — 28 Oct 2014, 03:12 PM — Updated about 10 years ago
Seen here in this photo is Lee Joon-Seok (on the left), the captain of the sunken South Korean ferry Sewol, arriving at Gwangju District Court in Gwangju, South Korea, on Monday, 27 October
Prosecutors sought the death penalty for the captain of [Sewol]((http://says.com/my/news/sewol-ferry-timeline-of-events-and-all-you-need-to-know)) that sank in April this year, killing 304 people, most of them teenage students, South Korea's worst peacetime disaster in decades
In this April 16, 2014 file photo, South Korean coast guard officers try to rescue passengers from the Sewol ferry as it sinks in the water off the southern coast near Jindo, south of Seoul, South Korea
Image via nationalpost.comLee Joon-seok, 68, has been charged with homicide. The prosecution told the court he should be sentenced to death for failing to carry out his duty, before resting its case in a trial that has taken place amid intense public anger towards the crew.
theguardian.com
The captain, Lee Jun-seok, 69, “did nothing to help rescue his passengers,” said Park Jae-eok, the chief prosecutor, during a court hearing in this southwestern city.
nytimes.com
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, who faced accidental homicide, criminal negligence and other charges.
nytimes.com
The captain was among 15 accused of abandoning the sharply listing ferry after telling the passengers to stay put in their cabins. Four, including the captain, face homicide charges.
Sewol ferry captain Lee Joon-Seok, wearing a sweater and underpants, being rescued from the tilting vessel before it sank on 16 April 2014
Image via says.comProsecutors charged the captain, Lee Joon-seok, and the three crew members with murder, because prosecutors allege the ferry's crew members didn't use the ship's facilities such as life rafts, life vests and announcements to evacuate passengers.
cnn.comThe captain was filmed being rescued in his underwear on April 16, as the ferry capsized off the South Korean coast. Lee said he was changing clothes and smoking at the time of the incident. He was rescued while hundred remained inside the boat, listening to announcements to stay put. He has apologized to the victims saying his actions were not intentional.
theguardian.com
In their final argument before a court verdict, expected on 11 November, the prosecutors said:
Yellow ribbons adorn portraits of South Korean students who died in the mid-April ferry disaster
Image via pri.orgThat the 15 crew members of the 6,825-ton Sewol knew that their ship was sinking and that the passengers were waiting inside after repeated instructions for them to stay put.
nytimes.com
The crew members boarded the first coast guard boats arriving, the prosecutors said. “They only cared about their own lives,” one prosecutor said before a courtroom packed with 60 relatives of the victims.
nytimes.com
The Sewol sank off southwestern South Korea on April 16. It was carrying twice as much cargo as legally allowed, and much of the cargo was poorly secured, the prosecutors said. When the crew members, dressed in pea-green jail uniforms, entered the courtroom and bowed toward the family members, some responded by hissing.
nytimes.com
The lawyers for the captain and three others accused of murder all argued that their clients had no intention of killing the passengers, adding that the crew should not face blame exclusively
Crew members, the lawyers said, were also victims of a greedy ferry operator that had given inadequate safety training and ignored repeated warnings about the overloading and instability of the ship.
nytimes.com
Many defendants wept during their final statements
The captain of the sunken ferry Sewol, Lee Joon-Seok (left) arrives on the second day of his trial at the Gwangju District Court in Gwanju, southwestern South Korea, in June.
Image via npr.org“I am sorry. I will repent until the last day of my life,” Mr. Lee, the captain, said in a final statement. “When I look back, I feel nothing but shame.”
nytimes.com
“I wish I could turn the clock back,” Park Han-gyeol, the third mate, said.
nytimes.com
The death penalty, as its being sought for the captain, is unusual in South Korea, which has not carried out executions in 17 years
Judges preside over a pretrial hearing of crew members of the sunken ferry Sewol at Gwangju District Court on June 10, 2014 in Gwangju, South Korea.
Image via canada.com"The death penalty is essentially a mere life sentence," said Jasper Kim, a professor at the Graduate School of International Studies at Ewha University, who has a background in law. He also added that South Korea does not usually sentence convicted criminals to life without parole -- so life sentences usually represent about 20 years or less of imprisonment.
cnn.comThere have been no executions in South Korea since 1997 despite several death sentences in recent years. It hasn't been used in decades, as a backlash to how it was used in the past for political purposes.
theguardian.com
It is important to note that the death penalty cannot be carried out in South Korea without a signed order from the country's president
A verdict is due in the trial on Nov. 11, but even if Mr. Lee is given a death sentence, it’s unlikely he’ll be executed. South Korea has a de facto moratorium on the death penalty, with the most recent execution taking place in 1997. In recent years, however, government officials have raised publicly the possibility of resuming executions.
Kang Wu-ye, a criminal law professor at the Korea Maritime and Ocean University, said the call for the death penalty was unusual and reflected social pressure on the prosecution to seek the maximum punishment for Lee Jun-seok, who has been widely reviled for his role in the tragedy.
