Tag: Sewol

Ferry Boat Company Executive Sentenced to 10 Years By Korean Court

| November 22, 2014

It looks like from the corporate side of the Sewol Ferry disaster the authorities are making the company’s president the fall guy:

The head of the operator of the South Korean Sewol ferry that sank in April killing more than 300 people has been sentenced to 10 years in jail.

The Gwangju district convicted Kim Han-sik, president of Chonghaejin Marine, of criminal negligence.
Investigators found the ferry had been overloaded with cargo which contributed to its sinking.
Last week, the court sentenced 15 crew members to between five and 36 years in prison. (BBC)

You can read more at the link.

Ferry Boat Captain Receives 36 Year Prison Sentence

| November 12, 2014

The captain of the Sewol ferry boat will likely die in prison considering his age, but I am surprised how the engineer was convicted of murder and not the captain:

A district court on Tuesday sentenced the captain of the sunken ferry Sewol to 36 years in prison for abandoning passengers at the time of the deadly sinking.

Lee Joon-seok, however, was acquitted of charges that he murdered 304 passengers as he left them behind while he was the first to be rescued when the ill-fated ship was sinking off South Korea’s southern coast on April 16.

The Gwangju District Court in this southern city convicted the 68-year-old skipper of gross negligence and dereliction of duty, including abandoning his ship while the passengers, most of them high school students on a school trip, remained trapped inside the ship.

“Captain Lee ordered the second mate to tell passengers to get off the ship when the patrol ship was about to arrive at the scene,” judge Lim Jung-yeob said in his ruling. “It is hard to conclude that the captain’s act eventually led to the death of the passengers just based on the evidence submitted by the prosecution.”

Prosecutors, who had earlier sought the death penalty against Lee, said they would immediately appeal the verdict.

In the same ruling, the Gwangju District Court sentenced the ship’s chief engineer, only identified by his surname Park, to 30 years in prison, convicting him of murder.

Prison terms ranging from five years to 20 years were delivered to 13 other crew members, including the first engineer surnamed Sohn, who have been charged with abandonment and violation of a ship safety act. (Yonhap)

I do find it interesting how these crew members are deservedly getting smashed with these sentences while the corporate owners and aids of the ferry boat company who in my opinion are the biggest villains get a slap on the wrist.

Family Members and Aids of Deceased Chonghaejin Marine Company Owner Receive Light Sentences After Ferry Boat Disaster

| November 6, 2014

The light punishment for corporate criminals in Korea continues:

Yoo Dae-gyun, the eldest son of the late Yoo Byung-eun, the de facto owner of Chonghaejin Marine that operated the sunken ferry Sewol, was sentenced to three years in prison Wednesday in district court.

The Incheon District Court found him guilty of embezzlement and breach of trust.

The sentence was lighter than the four years imprisonment the prosecution had earlier demanded.

According to the court, the Yoo took 7.3 billion won in fees from seven companies owned by his family, including Chonghaejin, for using a trademark held by him from May 2002 to last December.

He obtained trademark rights for the name of Sewol’s sister ferry, Ohamana, and Chonghaejin paid him 3.5 billion won for the use of the name.

“We recognize Yoo embezzled the money under the name of trademark use and advisory service fees by taking advantage of the fact that he was the son of the senior Yoo who established those companies,” the court said.  [Korea Times]

Look at the sentences the other Yoo family members and aids received:

In the meantime, the late senior Yoo’s brothers, Byung-il and Byung-ho, were given a suspended jail term and two years in prison, respectively, for embezzlement and breach of trust at the companies for which they worked, which were also set up by the Yoo family.

Four other aides to the late senior Yoo, who were heads or high-ranking officials of the companies set up by the family, were sentenced to two to four years for embezzlement or breach of trust as well. Six other aides received suspended jail terms for the same charges.

How come I have a feeling that backroom deals were worked out for these sentences to keep people quiet about their collusion with government officials?

Group Holds Gwanghwamun Pizza Party to Protest Hunger Strike

| September 12, 2014

Via the Marmot’s Hole comes this news about a conservative group that decided to show their displeasure about the hunger strikes over the Sewol ferry accident by holding a pizza party:

pizza party baby!

On Saturday, a group of conservative extremists pulled off an eating binge at Gwanghwamun Plaza in downtown Seoul, right next to the bereaved families of victims of the April 16 ferry sinking who are involved in a hunger strike demanding a thorough investigation of the disaster. The 100 people in attendance are members of the Ilgan Best (Ilbe), an online community of conservatives. They sang and ate pizza and fried chicken to mock the hunger strike the victims’ families have been staging since they lost their children in the ferry sinking. A special Sewol ferry law has not been approved yet due to their opposition to some aspects of it.

One blogger built a dog house and put dog food at the site where the group held their rude ceremony with a banner reading “This is where those who are worse than dogs have their food.” The partisan wrangling over the Sewol ferry law has spilled over into society, sending extremists to carry out insensitive acts.

Sponsors said their performance had the simple message of demanding that Gwanghwamum Plaza, which has turned into a stage for political protest, be returned to citizens. They claimed they were well-behaved and cleaned up the area afterwards.  [Joong Ang Ilbo]

You can read more at the link.