Prosecutors seek death penalty for captain

The BBC has an article about the Korean ferry disaster:

South Korean prosecutors are seeking the death penalty for the captain of the Sewol ferry, which sank in April of 2014, killing more than three hundred people. The prosecutors said Lee Joon-seok, charged with homicide, failed to execute his duty.
The sinking sparked nation-wide grief, and led to severe criticism of both safety standards and the government's handling of the rescue operation.
Many of those who died when the ferry sank were teenagers on a school trip. The disaster was blamed on a combination of illegal redesigns, overloading of cargo, and an inexperienced crew member steering the vessel. There was public outrage after survivors testified that they had been told by the crew to stay where they were even as the boat started to sink.
Prosecutors said Captain Lee "escaped the ship without making any efforts to rescue passengers", the AFP news agency reported. "He made excuses and lied. He showed no repentance... and so we ask for the death sentence," they said.
No-one has been executed in South Korea since 1997.
In a photo (above) taken on 16 April 2014, South Korean coast guard officers rescued ferry Sewol captain Lee Joon-seok, wearing a sweater and underwear, from the ferry in the water off the southern coast near Jindo, South Korea.
During the course of the trial, held in the southern city of Gwangju, Captain Lee repeatedly told the court that he was confused and not in a normal state of mind when the incident occurred. When questioned, he did concede that he should have done more to get passengers to safety. He also admitted that he knew the crew member steering the ship at the time of the accident was relatively new to the job, and did not have the skills and experience required.
Prosecutors asked for three crew members to be sentenced to life in imprisonment. They also recommended terms of between fifteen and thirty years for the other eleven crew members who were tried on lesser charges. The court is expected to deliver its verdict and sentences for all fifteen crew members in November of 2014.
The Sewol had 476 passengers on board when it capsized and began to list off the southern coast of South Korea on 16 April 2014.
Only 172 people survived the tragedy, with Captain Lee and his crew among the first to climb into rescue boats.
A separate trial is ongoing for employees of the company that operated the ferry, Chonghaejin Marine. The owner of the company, billionaire businessman Yoo Byung-eun, disappeared after the disaster, and was later found dead.

Rico says it proves, yet again, you don't fuck with Koreans...