Lee Joon-seok, captain of the ferry Sewol, has been cleared of murder charges and thus escaped the death penalty. He will now spend 36 years in jail, after prosecutors found him guilty of violating ‘seamen’s law’ and abandonment causing death and injury.
The Sewol, which was carrying 476 people at the time -325 of which were school children on their way to a school trip-, first listed and subsequently capsized on April 16 this year, after a series of incorrect maneuvers conducted in a narrow channel with known strong undercurrents.
Over 300 people perished, most of them trapped in their compartments underwater because no evacuation order was given.
The captain did jump to safety into the hands of rescuers. Footage of this action was circulated internationally, and both the captain and the crew were vilified for abandoning the ship while hundreds of people remained onboard the sinking ship.
The seaworthiness of the vessel had come into question before the incident. Maritime experts had warned that it had become top heavy and unbalanced on the port side after a series of modifications.
At the time of the disaster, the vessel was carrying more than double of the recommended cargo and most of it had not been properly secured. These factors, combined with the actions of an inexperienced helmsman steering the ship at the time, conspired to create a deadly situation.