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Appeals court convicts S Korean ferry captain of murder

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From my experience, no one from that nation would have acted any differently than the captain did.

I would have to agree. Hearing about the panicking korean flight attendants banging on the doors of the airplane that crashed in Hiroshima didn't help either.

1 ( +2 / -1 )

I'm still wondering why the captain had no trousers on when he fled the ship.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

The fact that he left his vessel without concern for his passengers is a very bad decision,but of course he doesn't have to go down with his ship, He indeed has to be sentenced for that mistake, on the other hand, what about the owner of the ship, the insurance company that allowed the drastic changes? they also should be on trial.

When ships are transformed, they have to be controlled if they are still seaworthy, did that happen?

1 ( +1 / -0 )

@JTDan

In the US and UK common law, he may have been found guilty of depraved-heart murder....

No. Maybe in the US. "Depraved-heart murder" isn't recognised in England and Wales, Scotland or Ulster.

There is no such thing as "UK law".

0 ( +0 / -0 )

If the facts are as alleged, then, yeah, he committed depraved heart murder

UK has an interesting way of saying it that is for sure.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

In the US and UK common law, he may have been found guilty of depraved-heart murder, or second degree murder. Depraved-heart is when if the defendant commits an act of gross recklessness.

If the facts are as alleged, then, yeah, he committed depraved heart murder.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

From my experience, no one from that nation would have acted any differently than the captain did.

2 ( +2 / -0 )

Revisit- if you have the guts- thefootage that shows the captain slinking off the ship to safety. April 16 is my birthday and i can never forget about this tragic event- i am in Japan- nor fully enjoy my birthday from here on in...murder is a just ruling...imagine yourself escaping as captain knowing your orders have condemned innocent children to death. He is a murderer. definitely. think long and hard about it before citing criminal law, etc and its interpretations..manslaughter is commited without choice. This captain chose to abandon those innocent and trusting passengers. Gross negligence is not going far enough. Murder is a correct judgement.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

I have to agree with Yubaru on this one.

CH3CHO: "Many experts on Korea observed that Korea is not governed by law but by passion. It seems such observation was once again maintained."

Give the double standards and racism a rest, please. At least the guy has been found guilty (and as you said, 3 years or so for negligence resulting in sinking, so times that by lives lost as it is negligence resulting in death, not just a ship sunk). In Japan he'd be given a golden parachute and protected as he moved on to another Amakudari job.

-7 ( +1 / -8 )

yes this guy should spend the rest of his lofebehind bars, but murder is too strong, he didnt willing go out and try and kill all those people on purpose. manslaughter/gross negligence yes. hes just a scapegoat to take the pressure of the SK gov who themselves are negligent in taking too long in responding to the sinking.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Criminal negligence resulting in death. Not murder. Maybe manslaughter.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

South Korea cannot truly be considered an advanced nation, unless it puts the safety of its citizens above all else and its citizens also put safety above all else.

Huh? What happened here is due to the negligence of one company, and their desire for profit. The ship was outfitted with extra staterooms and steerage above the deck line that wreaked havoc on it's overall balance. That is not the fault of the captain, but the owners of the ship, who were seeking extra profit.

They if anyone hold a higher degree of fault than the captain, and they are the one's who should be facing the consequences of altering the ship against it's initial design and being the cause of the accident.

Advanced nation....gimme a break, if this is the "ruler" to describe or define what an "advanced" nation is then there are ZERO nations on this planet we call earth that are "advanced".

Your views are naive at best.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

I think the poor chap will suffer enough having to live with what happened . Murder it certainly was not . Emotions are running very high at present I hope when time has elapsed some pity can be shown to the man.

0 ( +2 / -2 )

This would never be murder in England or Wales. It's by definition, premeditated. Maybe the Korean definition's different, but it looks a lot like revenge....

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South Korea cannot truly be considered an advanced nation, unless it puts the safety of its citizens above all else and its citizens also put safety above all else.

-2 ( +1 / -3 )

The captain is certainly guilty of negligence, but murder? I think not.

2 ( +3 / -1 )

Korean Penal Code Article 189 Paragraph 2 says that anyone who sinks a ship out of gross negligence shall be punished by imprisonment of 3 years or less, or a fine of 20 million won or less.

Many experts on Korea observed that Korea is not governed by law but by passion. It seems such observation was once again maintained.

5 ( +6 / -1 )

So the cause was, quote: "The tragedy shocked and enraged the country as it became clear that it was almost entirely man-made—the result of an illegal redesign, an overloaded cargo bay, an inexperienced crew and an unhealthy nexus between operators and state regulators."

Er, hello, no mention of the captain there... sounds as if he was merely an afterthought, indeed a scapegoat of sorts.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

What ever happened to the captain MUST go down with the ship?

1 ( +1 / -0 )

I know it's hard, but passion and anger should never play a part in a ruling like this. Which is easier said than done...

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Apparently you missed the part where he saved his own *ss before saving any of the others which HE even instructed to go back down or back to their rooms. This punishment fits his actions. Many lives have been lost.

No I read that part, and he was sentenced to 36 years in prison, which for his age is probably a death sentence anyway.

This is society seeking revenge

0 ( +2 / -2 )

Hard to say whether this is fair or not. First, however you write it up, while there are a large number of unsafe practices and he tried to save his neck, it isn't like he ACTIVELY killed them so one must wonder about "murder".

Further, to use "embarassing the nation" as a reason to up the crime reeks of totalitarianism. Cite the number of people who died, fine. Cite gross negligence, fine. Cite he must have known, fine. But not the nation.

3 ( +5 / -2 )

If this is the rationale behind him being convicted of murder then it sounds to me more like revenge than anything else.

Apparently you missed the part where he saved his own *ss before saving any of the others which HE even instructed to go back down or back to their rooms. This punishment fits his actions. Many lives have been lost.

2 ( +5 / -3 )

His action, which seriously hurt our national image, is not forgivable for any reasons,” it said.

If this is the rationale behind him being convicted of murder then it sounds to me more like revenge than anything else.

His actions were negligent, willful, I dont know, but he is/was the captain and he is ultimately responsible for the ship, and in my humble opinion the first conviction seemed right and the 36 year sentence too.

This conviction could hurt the image more "internationally", but with the public seeking a scapegoat, it's his neck that is on the line, the "national" image is all that counts and there is a need to justify the actions.

4 ( +6 / -2 )

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