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October 28, 2014

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Prosecutors seek death penalty for ferry captain

Source: AFP | October 28, 2014, Tuesday | Print Edition

PROSECUTORS are demanding the death penalty for the captain of the South Korean ferry that sank in April, branding him an unrepentant liar who abandoned the more than 300 people who died in the disaster.

They also sought life sentences for three senior crew members and prison terms of between 15 to 30 years for 11 others as the trial of Captain Lee Joon-Seok and his crew wound up in the southern city of Gwangju yesterday in an emotional session that left many of the defendants in tears.

The 69-year-old Lee “escaped the ship without making any efforts to rescue passengers,” senior prosecutor Park Jae-Eok told the court. “He made excuses and lied. He showed no repentance ... and so we ask for the death sentence.”

Lee, who remained calm as the sentencing recommendation was read out, said he had committed a crime for which “I deserve to die” but insisted he never intended to sacrifice the lives of passengers.

The three-judge bench will deliver its verdict and sentence on November 11.

Although the death penalty is still passed in South Korea, nobody has been executed since 1997. Currently, there are some 60 people on death row.

The 6,825-ton Sewol ferry was carrying 476 people — most of them high school students —  when it sank off the southern coast. Only 174 were rescued.

The disaster was blamed on a combination of cargo overloading, illegal redesign and poor helmsmanship, but the most serious charges against Lee and his crew related to their response once the ship ran into trouble.

They were among the first to climb into rescue boats and were publicly vilified for abandoning passengers still trapped inside.

Crew members were further condemned when it emerged they had instructed passengers to remain where they were as the vessel began to list dangerously — a decision the prosecution said contributed to the loss of life.

Lee and the three senior crew all face the capital charge of “homicide through wilful negligence,” but the prosecution said only the captain should receive the death penalty since the burden of responsibility lay with him.

Reading from a statement, Lee said he had been paralysed by panic and failed to take “appropriate measures" that could have saved lives. “But I swear from my heart that there was never any intention to murder,” he said.

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