Lee Joon-seok

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Captain in Ferry Disaster Sentenced to Life in Prison

Lee Joon-seok previously only got 36 years

(Newser) - The South Korean ferry captain responsible for last year's disaster that killed more than 300 people, mostly schoolchildren, was given an increased sentence of life in prison today by an appellate court that convicted him of homicide. A district court in November had sentenced Lee Joon-seok to 36 years...

S. Korean Ferry Captain Gets 36 Years

Lee Joon-seok acquitted of homicide

(Newser) - A South Korean ferry captain was sentenced today to 36 years in prison for negligence and abandoning passengers when his ship sank earlier this year, but the court acquitted him of homicide, concluding there was no proof he knew his actions would cause the more than 300 deaths that shocked...

Prosecutors Call for Ferry Captain's Death

Lee Joon-seok 'supplied the cause,' they say

(Newser) - Prosecutors want the captain of a South Korean ferry that sank in April and killed 300 people, mostly schoolchildren, put to death. Prosecutors concluded their case today against Lee Joon-seok by saying he "supplied the cause" that sunk the Sewol, and therefore "has the heaviest responsibility for the...

Hostile Families Confront Crew of Korea Ferry, Cry 'Murderer'

Emotions run wild at pre-trial hearing for 15 crew members

(Newser) - Grief-wracked family members of the 300-plus souls lost in the sinking of the South Korean ferry Sewol today aimed their rage squarely at the 15 crewmembers accused of negligence, as the reeling country held a pre-trial hearing in the April 16 disaster. The AP describes "hostile spectators" who cried,...

Korea Ferry Routinely— and Severely—Overloaded

Disaster exposes huge chasms in maritime regulation

(Newser) - The doomed ferry Sewol exceeded its cargo limit on 246 trips—nearly every voyage it made in which it reported cargo—in the 13 months before it sank, according to documents that reveal vast regulatory failures. And it may have been more overloaded than ever on its final journey. One...

Captain Charged; Teacher's Suicide Note Is Wrenching

'Spread my ashes over the ship sinking site'

(Newser) - The captain of the capsized South Korean ferry is in custody and charged with five offenses that could land him in prison for the rest of his life, reports CNN . The charges against 69-year-old Lee Joon-seok boil down to negligence, both leading up to the accident and after it. "...

Arrest Warrant Issued for Doomed Ferry's Captain

Investigators say he wasn't at helm when accident occurred

(Newser) - This might better explain why the captain of the South Korean ferry that capsized has been so reluctant to face the public: Investigators say he wasn't at the helm when the ship ran into trouble, report the BBC and Reuters . "He may have been off the bridge,"...

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