Prosecutors demand death penalty for South Korea ferry captain

Prosecutors in South Korea revealed this morning they are seeking the death penalty for the captain of ferry MV Sewol that capsized off the SW coast of the country in April, leaving 304 people dead. Lawyers rested their case for the prosecution by telling the court that 68-year-old Lee Joon-seok, should be sentenced to death for failing to execute his duty, which they say amounted to homicide. A verdict has not yet been handed down. The tragedy has drawn sharp criticism of the government of President Park Geun-hye for its handling of the rescue operation. Many of those who died when the ferry sank were teenagers on a school trip.

Lee supplied the cause of the sinking of the Sewol … he has the heaviest responsibility for the accident. We ask that the court sentence him to death.

Lead prosecutor Park Jae-eok

Lee has apologized for abandoning passengers, but says he didn’t know his action would lead to the mass deaths. In a video taken by the coast guard on the day of the sinking, he was seen escaping the ferry in his underwear to a rescue boat while many passengers were still on the sinking ship. Many student survivors have said they were repeatedly ordered over a loudspeaker to stay on the ship and didn’t remember any evacuation order being given before they helped each other flee. Lee said he issued an evacuation order for passengers but initially told reporters days after his arrest that he withheld the evacuation order because rescuers had yet to arrive and he feared for the passengers’ safety in the cold, swift waters.

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