Sewol Captain Facing Life Sentence

The captain of the ill fated ‘Sewol’ ferry Lee Joon-seok (68), along with two crew members could be imprisoned for life on the grounds of passenger abandonment and negligence charges under the existing Korean law, as reported by Bloomberg.

yonhap
yonhap

The 15 crew members, who have all survived the sinking, have been arrested and are under investigation.

The confirmed death toll of this tragedy that struck the country two weeks ago has risen to 189, where 113 people are still missing, predominantly high school students.

The country’s Prime Minister Chung Hong Won offered her resignation yesterday as the public anger rises together with accusations that the government failed to do everything that needed to be done to prevent their loved ones from dying.

Rescue operations for the remaining passengers, all feared dead, have been hampered by inclement weather along with floating debris from the wreck.

The ferry was carrying around 475 people, including 325 students from a high school in Ansan, just south of Seoul, when it sent out a distress signal on April 16th at 8:58 a.m. in waters 20 kilometers off the island of Byeongpoong.

[mappress]
World Maritime News Staff, April 28, 2014