Sunken ship’s captain avoids murder charges

The captain of the sunken ferry Sewol will unlikely face prosecution for a murder charge, Financial News said Sunday, citing judicial experts.

The report quoted prosecutors and lawyers as saying the captain Lee Joon-seok, 69, who ditched the sinking ferry leaving behind passengers, will certainly receive heavy doses of penalty.

But they pointed out his action doesn’t hold criminal elements which any existing law could define as a supporting evidence for committing murder.

They corroborated on the ground that although Lee infringed upon a duty of rescuing passengers in danger and knew that the accident jeopardized their lives, the situation also threatened his own life.

One prosecutor-turned-lawyer said that to charge Lee with murder, there should be a clear intention behind his infringement upon the duty of rescuing passengers, his personal reason to cause passengers’ death, and an absolute zero possibility of the passengers’ survival.

Prosecutors arrested Lee and two other ferry engineers Saturday on charges of absconding after wrecking the ship.

The public has been calling for harsher penalty for Lee, saying in unison it was his delinquency which killed the passengers. By Ko Dong-hwan The korea times рефинансирование кредитов в банке оформить