Captain of capsized South Korean ferry gets 36 years in prison

Captain of capsized South Korean ferry gets 36 years in prison
(Image credit: Chung Sung-Jun/Getty Images)

The captain of a ferry that sank in South Korea in April, killing more than 300 people, was convicted of professional negligence and received a 36-year prison sentence on Tuesday.

Capt. Lee Joon Seok could have been given a death sentence, which is a rare punishment in South Korea. The chief engineer received a 30-year sentence, and 13 other crew members each were sentenced to up to 20 years, South Korean media is reporting.

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Catherine Garcia, The Week US

Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.