Koreans express condolences and sorrow over the lives that have been lost by the Sewol Ferry disaster in mid-April by hanging yellow ribbons in the Seoul Plaza.
Chief engineer Park Gi-Ho was convicted of murder and sentenced to 30 years in prison. He reportedly left two injured crewmates on board as the ferry sank. The rest of the 15 crew members were sentenced to 5-20 years in prison for accidental homicide and negligence.
Prosecutors hoped to charge Lee with homicide by willful negligence and advocated for a death penalty. The court, however, claimed that there was a lack of evidence to convict Lee of criminal intent. According to the Guardian, prosecutors are appealing against the court’s decision.
Most of the victims were high school students on a trip supervised by their school. Families of the victims were upset at the ruling because the captain was acquitted of murder charges. Many wanted the captain to receive the death penalty.
Even before the trials, the South Korean nation was furious with the surviving crew, particularly the captain. Soon after the disaster, South Korean president Park Geun-Hye labeled the Sewol crew’s actions as murderous.
Captain Lee Joon-Seok and the rest of the crew have received heavy criticism from the South Korean public for their lack of action to save the passengers. Of the total 476 aboard the ferry, only 172 survived. Lee was one of the first to exit the ferry and allegedly told the passengers to remain in their rooms even as the ferry was capsizing.
Many of the South Korean people are dissatisfied with the results of the trial and demand harsher sentences. They also demand further investigation into the capsizing of the ferry. It is widely believed that the ferry sank due to modifications to the vessel, which made it more susceptible to toppling in the event of a sharp turn.
Searches for the missing bodies have officialy ceased as the court made its decision on the Sewol crew’s sentences. Divers have recovered the bodies of all but nine of the victims.
