South Korea ferry disaster: prosecutors seek death penalty for captain

Prosecution tells court Lee Joon-seok should be sentenced to death after more than 300 killed in capsized ferry

South Korea prosecutors demanded the death penalty for Lee Joon-seok, captain of the Sewol ferry that sank in April with the loss of more than 300 lives. Photograph: Park Chul-hong/AP

Reuters in Gwangju-Monday 27 October 2014

South Korean prosecutors have sought the death penalty for the captain of a ferry that capsized in April, leaving 304 people, most of them schoolchildren, dead or missing.

Lee 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.

Lee 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.

The rest face lesser charges, including negligence. A three-judge panel is expected to announce its verdicts in November. No formal pleas have been made but Lee has denied intent to kill.

There have been no executions in South Korea since 1997 despite several death sentences in recent years.

“Lee supplied the cause of the sinking of the Sewol … he has the heaviest responsibility for the accident,”said lead prosecutor Park Jae-eok. “We ask that the court sentence him to death.”

The prosecutors sought life sentences for the other three charged with homicide, and prison terms varying from 15 to 30 years for the rest.

The Sewol capsized and sank on a routine voyage on 16 April, triggering an outpouring of nationwide grief and sharp criticism of the government of President Park Geun-hye for its handling of the rescue operation. The crew members on trial have said they thought it was the coastguard’s job to evacuate passengers.