South Korean ferry captain's sentence upped to life in prison

Capt. Lee Joon-seok was given life in prison for the fatal wreck of his ferry, the Sewol

(Image credit: Ahn Young-Joon—Pool/Getty Images)

published 28 April 2015

On Tuesday, an appellate court in Gwangju, South Korea, convicted the captain of a ferry that sank a year ago, killing 300 students and other passengers, of "murder through willful negligence," and sentenced him to life in prison. Last year, a lower court had acquitted the captain, Lee Joon-seok, of homicide but sentenced him to 36 years in jail for lesser charges.

Fourteen other crew members of the Sewol were given sentences of between 1.5 and 12 years; the chief engineer actually received a reduced sentence, from 30 years to 10 years.

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.

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