April 16/14 - Ferry Sinks Off South Korean Coast

[MuffyBee]

http://time.com/2968886/south-korea-sewol-ferry-license-cargo/
South Korean Ferry Was Operating Illicitly, State Report Says
July 9, 2014

The Sewol had earned an operating license by means of fraudulent documents, and carried twice the legal limit of cargo

The MV Sewol was operating under a license earned by fraudulent safety documents when it capsized off the South Korean coast in April, an incident that left 300 people — mostly high school students on a class trip — dead.

An interim report on the tragedy filed by South Korean state investigators failed to specify exactly how the Sewol deceived licensing officials, CNN reported, but the Audit and Inspection Board plans to penalize those agencies that failed to perform proper safety inspections aboard the ferry.

On its final voyage, the ferry’s cargo exceeded twice the legal limit and had not been properly secured onboard, contributing to the boat’s capsizing en route from the city of Incheon, near Seoul, to the island of Jeju.

The findings of this latest report do not bode well for the Sewol’s crew and owners, who face legal charges for negligent actions that prosecutors say both facilitated the sinking of the ferry and failed to prevent the death of most of those onboard.
More...

[MuffyBee]

More tragedy. 

http://www.straitstimes.com/the-big-story/asia-report/south-korea/story/5-killed-helicopter-searching-south-korea-ferry-victims-
5 killed as helicopter searching for South Korea ferry victims crashes
July 17, 2014

SEOUL (AFP) - A helicopter that had been searching for victims of South Korea's ferry disaster crashed on Thursday in a residential district of Gwangju city, killing all five people on board, officials said.

There were no reported fatalities on the ground, but one high school student was injured by flying debris when the helicopter crashed shortly before 11am, narrowly missing nearby apartment blocks in the southern city.

Dramatic footage taken by a vehicle camcorder and broadcast on YTN television, showed the free-falling helicopter plunging nose-first into the ground, and exploding in a fireball on impact. "Five people were on board and all are presumed dead," local fire chief Moon Ki Shik told reporters at the scene, adding that the cause of the crash was not immediately clear.
 

[MuffyBee]

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-28339896
South Korea ferry search helicopter crashes, kills five
July 17, 2014

A helicopter that had been involved in the search for missing passengers from the sunken Sewol ferry has crashed in the South Korean city of Gwangju, killing all five people on board.

The helicopter was carrying fire-fighters returning to their base when it crashed into a street near an apartment complex, Yonhap reported.

A female high school student was slightly injured by shrapnel.

Eleven people are still missing in the wake of the 16 April ferry disaster.

The fire-fighters had been involved in the search operations for the last remaining passengers since Monday, reports said.

Yonhap quoted witnesses of Thursday's accident as saying that they saw the helicopter catch fire before nose-diving into the street.

"A plume of black smoke rose with a loud bang," said an unnamed witness. "I thought it was thunder and lightning."

The cause of the accident is still unknown and officials are investigating.

Student protest
The sinking of the Sewol killed more than 300 people, most of whom were students.

The incident triggered widespread grief and anger at the government, which has promised to overhaul its bureaucracy and improve emergency response.
Several protests have been held in Seoul in recent days calling for an independent inquiry to be swiftly conducted.

The latest was on Wednesday when more than 30 student survivors together with their parents marched on South Korea's National Assembly in Seoul.

Their march from their high school to the building attracted hundreds of citizens who walked together with them, according to AFP news agency.

Some clutched placards with slogans such as "Truth never sinks!".

A bill that would set up an independent inquiry is currently stuck in parliament because of a split over the legal foundation.
 

[MuffyBee]

http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/international/three-months-later-body-recovered-south-korean-ferry/
Three Months Later, Body Recovered From South Korean Ferry
July 18, 2014

Seoul. Divers retrieved another body Friday from the site of South Korea’s ferry disaster — the first to be recovered in nearly four weeks from the submerged vessel that sank three months ago.

The body of a female was found inside a dining hall of the upturned ferry which is lying on the seabed at a depth of 40 meters (130 feet), rescue authorities said.

The 6,825-ton Sewol ferry was carrying 476 passengers and crew — including 325 high school students — when it capsized and sank off the southern coast on April 16.

The latest body brings the number of confirmed dead to 294, with 10 victims still unaccounted for.

Although more than three months have now elapsed since the disaster, dive teams continue to carry out dangerous daily missions to scour the inside of the vessel for the missing bodies.

Victims’ families insist that heavy cranes can only be brought in to lift the ship once all the victims have been accounted for.

President Park Geun-hye and her administration have been bitterly criticized for their response to the disaster, which stunned the entire country.

A recent report by the state auditor said the sinking was a “man-made disaster” created by negligence, corruption and greed.

Fifteen Sewol crew members are on trial, including the captain and three senior officers who are accused of “homicide through willful negligence” — a charge that can carry the death penalty.

The bulk of the charges arise from the fact that they chose to abandon the ferry while hundreds of people were still trapped inside.
 

[MuffyBee]

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2014/07/21/korea-ferry-disaster-owner-dead/12968665/
Body believed fugitive owner of sunken ferry
July 21, 2014

South Korean police Tuesday said a body found in June is believed to be the fugitive billionaire owner of a ferry that sank two months earlier, killing more than 300 people.

DNA evidence indicates the man found in a field about 185 miles south of Seoul is 73-year-old Yoo Byung Eun, who also founded a Christian cult known as the Salvation Sect, the Yonhap news agency reported. His company, Chonghaejin Marine Co., owned the ferry Sewol, which capsized and sank April 16, apparently from overloading.

Police did not say how or when he died. The body was clad in a winter sweater and hat, and was described as "seriously decomposed."

DNA taken from Yoo's nearby vacation home and his older brother "fairly matched," a police official said. Final results are pending from the National Forensic Service.

The announcement came as a court issued a new arrest warrant for Yoo, who was accused of embezzling millions from the ferry company, which authorities said led to overloading ships and cutting corners on safety. In the early 1990s he spent four years in prison after being convicted of embezzlement.

Yoo's 75-year-old brother, whose DNA provided the match, went on trial Monday, along with Yoo's wife and brother-in-law. They are accused of embezzling $29 million from affiliates of Chonghaejin Marine.

The president of Chonghaejin Marine has been arrested, along with four employees who handled the cargo. The ferry captain and 14 crewmembers who survived have also been arrested for negligence and not helping passengers.

Prosecutors said Monday that 331 people are being investigated for possible involvement in the sinking, and that 139 people -- including Coast Guard officers -- have been detained for trial.
 

[MuffyBee]

http://online.wsj.com/articles/south-korea-finds-body-of-sewol-patriarch-1405994795?tesla=y&mg=reno64-wsj&url=http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304282604580044142938897262.html
South Korea Finds Body of 'Sewol' Patriarch
July 21, 2014
SEOUL—Ending a three-month nationwide manhunt after South Korea's ferry disaster, police confirmed Tuesday that the body of the patriarch of the family that controls the ship's operator had been found in a plum field in the south of the country.

Yoo Byung-eun's decomposed corpse was found on June 12 in Suncheon, just a few miles away from the 73-year-old's residence, police said.

The cause of death wasn't yet confirmed due to the body's deteriorated state, Suncheon police chief Woo Hyung-ho said at a nationally televised news conference. But forensics matched the body's DNA to samples of Mr. Yoo's found during the investigation. Bottles of local liquor were found at the site.

Police chased Mr. Yoo for months over alleged tax evasion and embezzlement since the ferry sinking, accusing his family of accumulating wealth through illegal means while cutting corners on safety. The family controlled the ship operator Chonghaejin Marine Co. whose ferry "Sewol" sank on April 16, killing over 300 people, mostly high-school students.

Mr. Yoo initially denied his involvement in the company's operation but later fled to avoid prosecutors' summons. Mr. Yoo's attorney didn't answer calls Tuesday morning.

Mr. Yoo and his family were targets of a nationwide hunt involving thousands of policemen and military personnel, with several members including his wife under custody. Police are still seeking one of his sons for questioning.

Before his name was linked to the ferry, Mr. Yoo was best-known for in the country as the founder of a church that was investigated in 1987 following a group suicide of 32 members. People ranging from government officials to celebrities have come under media scrutiny in recent months for professional and/or personal ties to the family. Mr. Yoo once recovered from corporate bankruptcy and served jail time for embezzlement, court documents and government records show.

The delayed confirmation of the body's identity is likely to raise questions about why police didn't identify it sooner after it was found over a month ago.

[MuffyBee]

http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/skorea-lab-fails-find-ferry-owner-died-24706316
Son of South Korean Sunken Ferry Owner Detained
July 25, 2014

South Korean police detained the eldest son of the sunken ferry owner Friday after two months on the run, three days after his billionaire father was confirmed dead.

Yoo Dae-gyun was picked up from an office south of Seoul along with a woman accused of helping his fugitive life, Incheon Metropolitan Police Agency said.

Yoo is a major shareholder in Chonghaejin Marine Co., the operator of the ferry that sank in April. His father, Yoo Byung-eun, had founded the predecessor of Chonghaejin.

For months, authorities had sought the two saying embezzlement and other alleged corruption by the Yoo family may have contributed to the April 16 disaster that left 294 people dead and 10 still missing. Most of the victims were high school students.

The body of the elder Yoo, 73, was discovered in a southern rural area by a resident on June 12. But it was mistaken as a homeless man's despite nearby clues to its identity, and authorities continued their massive manhunt for more than a month, raising public criticism about ineptness of police and prosecutors.

DNA testing confirmed the body was that of the elder Yoo late Tuesday, and the National Forensic Service, South Korea's state-run forensic lab, said Friday that due to decomposition, it could not determine the cause of his death.

Authorities did not even suspect the body could be Yoo's until recently — even though his body was found near a villa police raided in May and items found near the remains could have offered clues about his identity. DNA tests took about 40 days and critics say officials could have done it sooner if they suspected it was him.

Prosecutors later admitted that Yoo's detained secretary told investigators her boss was hidden behind a wall on the second floor during the May 25 search of his villa.

A high-level prosecutor resigned and two senior police officers were dismissed, but South Korean opposition lawmakers and media called for higher level officials to also step down.

The forensic service's chief Seo Joongseok and other experts told a televised news conference that they did not find any evidence showing that Yoo was poisoned, suffocated or died of external pressures or any disease. Police have said they haven't found any evidence Yoo was killed.
 

[MuffyBee]

http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/07/28/uk-southkorea-ferry-idUSKBN0FX03Y20140728?feedType=RSS&feedName=topNews&rpc=71&google_editors_picks=true
Associate of dead South Korea ferry boss arrested, children due to give evidence
July 27, 2014

(Reuters) - A close associate of the man whose web of business holdings included a ferry that sank and killed more than 300 people in April was arrested on Monday, a week after the ferry owner's badly decomposed body was identified.

The woman, who was believed to have been instrumental in helping Yoo Byung-un elude South Korea's largest manhunt, turned herself in on Monday. Police identified her only by her last name, Kim.

Another woman, the wife of Yoo's driver who was thought to have been with him during his final days at large, also turned herself in to police.

The ferry Sewol capsized on a routine trip on April 16, one of South Korea's worst civilian maritime disasters. Many of those killed were children from the same school on a class trip.

The detention of the two women, confirmed by a prosecutor, comes as some of the students who made it out of the ferry alive were due to take the stand at the trial of 15 crew members who fled the vessel.

Passengers on board the ferry, many of them children, had been told to stay on board while it was sinking.

The 15 surviving crew members, including the captain, face charges ranging from homicide to negligence for abandoning the ship ahead of the passengers. Video footage of their escape triggered outrage across South Korea.

Yoo heads the family that owned the ferry operator.

His associate, Kim, had been wanted for helping Yoo evade arrest. Her arrest came three days after police stormed an apartment on the outskirts of Seoul and found Yoo's elder son, Dae-gyun, who was wanted for embezzlement.

Yoo Dae-gyun is one of two sons who co-owned the holding company at the centre of a network of business interests that included the ferry operator.

He was not believed to have been as actively involved in management as his younger brother, who is believed to be in the United States.
 

[MuffyBee]

http://www.foxnews.com/world/2014/07/29/teenagers-who-survived-south-korea-ferry-sinking-haunted-by-disaster-that/
Teenagers who survived South Korea ferry sinking haunted by disaster that killed their friends
July 29, 2014

[MuffyBee]

http://uk.reuters.com/article/2014/07/29/uk-southkorea-ferry-idUKKBN0FY04Q20140729
South Korea ferry boss's driver who may hold key to mystery turns self in
July 29, 2014

(Reuters) - The driver of a South Korean businessman wanted over the sinking of a ferry that killed 304 people turned himself in on Tuesday, potentially unlocking the mystery of the businessman's final days after the country's worst maritime disaster in 44 years.

Prosecutors in the port city of Incheon said the driver, Yang Hoe-jung, turned himself in at their office, which is leading the investigation into the role of businessman Yoo Byung-un in the sinking of the ferry Sewol.

Yoo's body was found by a farmer in an orchard on June 12.

The structurally defective and heavily overloaded ferry capsized and sank on a routine journey on April 16, killing 304 people, 250 of them teenagers from the same school on a class field trip. Twelve of their teachers were also killed.

The driver was the last among a group of people close to Yoo who had been wanted for allegedly helping him elude South Korea's biggest manhunt.

Yang is thought by authorities to have been with Yoo, the head of a family that ran a network of companies that included the ferry operator, in the days before Yoo's body was found.

Police only identified the badly decomposed body as that of Yoo last week, although an autopsy and other extensive testing failed to indicate how he died or came to be in the orchard, forensic experts have said.

Yoo was accused of various wrongdoing including embezzlement and negligence that prosecutors believe led to the ferry disaster.

A reward of 500 million won (£287,456) had been posted for information leading to his arrest, the largest possible amount under South Korean criminal law.

Yoo's wife, brother and oldest son have been arrested but his younger son, Yoo Hyuck-ki, remains at large and is believed to be in the United States.

A senior prosecutor has said efforts have been made to work with U.S. authorities to capture Yoo Hyuck-ki, who was considered Yoo's heir-apparent.
RESCUE EFFORT

The trial of 15 surviving crew members on Tuesday continued to hear testimony from some of the 75 teenagers who survived the disaster. They spoke of the heroic leadership of a classmate amid the chaos, rather than that of the crew or coastguard.

"Some boy came around handing out (life vests)," one student told the Gwangju district court, which has moved temporarily to Ansan, south of Seoul, to accommodate the students.

"We were in the hallway, and someone asked, 'Who is willing to go up in the helicopter?' and we raised our hands and went," she said. "Some boy asked, the boy with the life vests."

Two helicopters pressed into the rescue effort were able to take off a few passengers who climbed on to the starboard side of the listing vessel.

The boy who handed out life jackets later took the witness stand to offer a dramatic account of efforts to escape the ship which had listed too sharply by the time the helicopters arrived for some of the students to climb out of a hallway to safety.

"We tied rope made out of curtains lowered from above around the girls who were willing to go, but it broke in the middle so we grabbed the hose from the fire hydrant ... and raised them one by one," he said.

The court has ordered the students' names withheld.

The crew face charges ranging from homicide to negligence for abandoning the ship after telling passengers, including the students, to remain in their cabins.

Some of the surviving children who testified on Monday said there was little help from coastguard rescuers who arrived as they scrambled out of the sinking ferry, with many
More...

[MuffyBee]

There are still ten passengers missing...

http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/south-koreas-grieving-sewol-families-want-independent-investigation/2014/08/05/3e7e3afd-88ae-4daf-bc81-8a1b2dd9d909_story.html
Grieving families of Sewol ferry victims want independent South Korean probe
August 5, 2015

[MuffyBee]

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-28752727
Sewol trial: South Korea coast guard was 'ill-equipped'
August 12, 2014

South Korean coast guard officers say they did not have the right training or equipment to rescue passengers from the stricken ferry, Sewol.

The officers were speaking at the trial of the ship's crew members.

More than 300 passengers, most of them school children, died when the Sewol sank in April, in South Korea's worst maritime disaster in decades.

The accident sparked outrage, with the government and the ferry's crew and owners facing the fiercest criticism.

The captain and 14 crew members are on trial for a range of charges relating to the disaster. The captain and three others are accused of the most serious crimes, of negligent homicide.

Defence lawyers for the captain have in turn accused the coast guard of failing in their duty to rescue passengers.

In court on Tuesday in the southern city of Gwangju, the coast guard officers spoke for the first time of what they encountered when they reached the ship.

They said they had expected to find passengers waiting on the deck, and were unaware that many were still trapped inside cabins that were filling up with water.

An officer said he was ready to pull people from the water, but did not have the equipment or the training to go inside the sinking ship.

The officer also said he did not know Captain Lee Joon-seok was one of the first people he had rescued from the boat.

According to Rupert Wingfield-Hayes, the BBC's correspondent in Gwangju, one of the most damning pieces of evidence against the captain is a coast guard video that shows him fleeing the ship while hundreds of passengers remain stuck inside.

Last month, an interim report by the South Korean government said the authorities' negligence and corruption were partly responsible for the sinking of the ferry.

Investigators say the ferry had been illegally modified to carry more passengers and cargo, and was overloaded.

But prosecutors say the actions of the captain and crew - including instructing passengers to stay in their cabins as the ship listed - led to more deaths.

The head of the ferry operator and other company officials are facing a separate trial.
 

[MuffyBee]

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/13/nyregion/in-suburban-new-york-an-unlikely-link-to-a-south-korean-ferry-disaster.html
In Suburban New York, an Unlikely Link to a South Korean Ferry Disaster
By ALISON LEIGH COWAN and CHOE SANG-HUN
AUG. 12, 2014

BEDFORD, N.Y. — With its blue-and-gold regalia and its link to French royalty, the chocolate shop by the Bedford Hills train station looked as if it would fit right in when it opened several years ago in this well-to-do suburb.

Now, it is an unlikely portal to a drama unfolding thousands of miles away, as the cobwebs on its front door and the broken glass on its side entrance faintly hint.

After an overloaded ferry sank on April 16 in South Korea, taking 304 people, mostly schoolchildren, down with it, the South Korean police have arrested dozens of crew members, inspectors, regulators, emergency medical workers and executives connected to Chonghaejin Marine, the company that operated the Sewol, the ill-fated ferry.

The search for Mr. Yoo was the largest manhunt in South Korean history.In Ferry Deaths, a South Korean Tycoon’s DownfallJULY 26, 2014
Son of Owner Is Arrested Over Sinking of South Korean FerryJULY 25, 2014
Through Interpol, South Korea has sought other countries’ help in capturing members and some confidants of the far-flung Yoo family who already face charges back home for embezzlement and other financial crimes. Prosecutors say they are building a case showing that these key insiders controlled the ferry company through a web of companies and drained it of assets that could have been spent on safety. South Korean tax authorities have also pressed their foreign counterparts to see if the family is hiding assets abroad that could compensate the victims’ families.

More...

[MuffyBee]

http://www.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20140812000978
Three-pronged effort to investigate Sewol
Problem-laden probes spawn public mistrust
August 12, 2014

(see timelines also in article)

[MuffyBee]

http://www.businessinsider.com/r-rival-south-korea-parties-reach-agreement-on-ferry-disaster-bill-2014-19
South Korea Pursues Legislation To Investigate Tragic Ferry Disaster
August 19, 2014

SEOUL (Reuters) - South Korean government and opposition leaders reached agreement on Tuesday on legislation to investigate in more detail the sinking of the Sewol ferry in April that killed over 300 passengers, most of them children.
The bill remains subject to approval by committees and the full parliament, Yonhap News Agency reported.
 

[MuffyBee]

http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/08/29/us-southkorea-ferry-idUSKBN0GT0MN20140829
Captain of doomed South Korea ferry says lack of checks was customary: Yonhap
August 29, 2014

(Reuters) - The captain of a ferry that capsized in April in South Korea's worst maritime accident in decades told a court on Friday he was just following established practice in not making safety checks before the vessel set off, Yonhap news agency reported.

Lee Joon-seok, 68, appeared at times disoriented and unable to properly understand questions when he took the stand for the first time in the court in the southwestern city of Gwangju that is trying him and three crew members for homicide, it said.

The overloaded ferry Sewol capsized and sank on a routine voyage that killed about 300 people, causing an outpouring of grief as well as outrage at President Park Geun-hye's government for what was seen by many as a botched rescue operation.

Lee was among 15 crew members accused of abandoning the sharply listing ferry after telling the passengers, most of them school children on a trip to the holiday island of Jeju, to stay put in their cabins.

The 11 other defendants face less serious charges, such as negligence. The defense lawyers of most said they had done their duty as crew, and the job of rescuing the passengers rested with the better trained coast guard.

Lee said he was following established practice by not running checks to ensure the cargo and the number of passengers fell within the limits of what his ship could carry.

"It's been the custom," Lee was quoted as saying by Yonhap, when asked why he did not make thorough checks.

The court has heard from teenagers who survived the disaster that they had helped one another in a desperate struggle to escape the sinking vessel. In addition to the school children, 12 of their teachers were killed.
 
The operator of the ferry has since ceased operation and the head of the family that owned the holding company, Yoo Byung-un, 73, was found dead in an orchard in June, although his body was only identified 40 days later and authorities have been unable to determine how he died.

Yoo’s wife, two brothers and oldest son have been arrested on charges that include embezzlement, but were temporarily released from detention to attend the funeral, scheduled for Saturday.

Police have arrested executives of the ferry operator and subsidiaries of the holding firm. The coast guard, which is set to be broken up, also faces a probe for suspected negligence in the course of the rescue operation.

[MuffyBee]

http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr/national/2014/08/30/69/0301000000AEN20140830001300320F.html
Sewol victim families, citizens protest for ferry bill
August 30, 2014

[MuffyBee]

http://blogs.wsj.com/korearealtime/2014/09/16/south-koreas-park-stays-out-of-sewol-ferry-issue/
South Korea’s Park Stays Out of Sewol Ferry Issue
September 16, 2014

South Korean President Park Geun-hye on Tuesday rejected a demand from her political rivals to intervene in the National Assembly discussion on the terms of a new probe into April’s Sewol ferry sinking.

The hottest issue involving the investigation is whether to give a new team power to prosecute anyone found responsible for the accident that left more than 300 dead or missing. The ruling party has rejected that demand, saying it would breach judicial procedures.

During a regular cabinet meeting Tuesday morning, Ms. Park said, “it is not something that I, as president, can or should do because doing so can destabilize…the separation of legal, administrative, and judicial powers,” referring to the demand that the president should take the lead in talking to the ruling Saenuri Party to get concessions and resolve the parliamentary deadlock.

“If the basic rule is broken, the judicial system will collapse, which in turn harms the foundation of our country,” she said.

The president also urged the National Assembly to speed up the passage of other important bills, including one that will enable change to the government structure so it can be more efficient in dealing with disaster.

The country’s parliament has, for months, been largely dysfunctional. The two main parties have been wrangling over the terms of the special law and refused to discuss other issues. At one point, a bipartisan compromise was reached, only to be rejected by some of the family members.
More...

[MuffyBee]

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/rest-of-world/Prosecutors-seek-death-penalty-for-South-Korea-ferry-disaster-captain/articleshow/44946896.cms
Prosecutors seek death penalty for South Korea ferry disaster captain
October 27, 2014

WANGJU, SOUTH KOREA: South Korean prosecutors on Monday demanded the death penalty for the captain of the Sewol ferry that sank in April, saying he had abandoned the more than 300 people who died in the disaster.
They also sought life sentences for three senior crew members as the trial of Captain Lee Joon-Seok and 14 Sewol crew wound up in the southern city of Gwangju.

Lee "escaped the ship without making any efforts to rescue passengers", the prosecution team said in its sentencing recommendation to the court.

"He made excuses and lied. He showed no repentance... and so we ask for the death sentence," the prosecution said.

Lee and three senior crew had all faced the capital charge of "homicide through wilful negligence" but the prosecution said only the captain should receive the death penalty, as the burden of responsibility lay with him.

The three others should receive life sentences, they said, while recommending prison terms of between 15 and 30 years for the remaining 11 crew who were tried on lesser charges.

The Sewol was carrying 476 passengers and crew when it sank off the southern coast on April 16. Only 174 people were rescued.

Lee and most of his crew were among the first to climb into rescue boats.
More...

[MuffyBee]

http://www.foxnews.com/world/2014/11/11/south-korea-ferry-disaster-verdict/
Captain of sunken S. Korean ferry receives 36 years in prison
November 11, 2014

 

Capt. Lee Joon-seok was convicted of gross negligence, but was also acquitted of a homicide charge, which claimed that he left the passengers behind while the ship was sinking.

Family members of the victims, most of whom were teenagers, immediately criticized the sentence for Lee and other crew members as too lenient, some weeping and shouting during the court proceedings.

The vessel's chief engineer got 30 years, and 13 other crew members were sentenced to up to 20 years in prison. The engineer, Park Ki-ho, was convicted of the homicide charge because he abandoned two injured colleagues, escaped the ferry and failed to tell rescuers about them, even though he knew they would die without help, the court statement said.

The court, however, cleared two other crew members of homicide charges for the same reasoning used to acquit the captain of homicide, the statement said. Those crew members got 15 and 20 years in prison, it said.

The court acquitted the widely vilified Lee of the homicide charge, for which he could have received the death penalty, because it was difficult to believe that he knew his actions would cause such a huge number of deaths, according to a court statement. It said that Lee had issued an evacuation order. South Korea hasn't executed anyone since late 1997, though its courts occasionally issue the punishment.

An official from the Justice Ministry, who requested anonymity because of office rules, said Lee, 69, will technically be eligible for parole after serving one-third of his prison sentence.

"Do you know how many children are dead?" one relative shouted out during the sentencing, according to Kook Joung-don, a lawyer for the relatives. "This isn't right," another screamed.

Prosecutors and the crew members have one week to appeal, according to the court.

The 15 crew members tasked with navigating the ferry Sewol have faced scathing public criticism because they escaped the sinking ship while many of their passengers were still trapped inside. A total of 476 people were aboard the ship and only 172 were rescued. Most of the dead were teenage students traveling to a resort island on a school trip.

Nearly seven months after the sinking, 295 bodies have been recovered, but nine are still missing. South Korean officials said Tuesday they've ended searches for the missing because there was only a remote chance of finding more bodies while worries have grown over the safety of divers. Two civilian divers have died after falling unconscious during searches.
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