Prosecutors sought a 15-year prison term Thursday for the head of the sunken ferry Sewol operator charged with manslaughter in the disaster that left more than 300 people dead.
Kim Han-sik, chief executive officer of Chonghaejin Marine Co., was indicted on charges of manslaughter and violation of the law on safe maritime navigation in connection with the April 16 tragedy.
Prosecutors also asked a district court in this southern city to impose a 2 million won (US$1,900) fine on the 71-year-old chief.
“Heavy punishment is inevitable since Kim, as a chief executive, remodeled the ship and overloaded it with cargo in an effort to overcome the company’s deficits,” said a prosecutor during the trial.
Charges against Kim include embezzling company funds worth tens of billions of won and taking kickbacks worth tens of millions of won from subcontractors, according to prosecutors.
“The Sewol tragedy was the result of the company’s long history of disregarding safety as it maximized profit,” said the prosecutor.
In the same trial on Thursday, the prosecution also demanded prison sentences ranging from four to six years for 10 of Chonghaejin Marine’s executives.
Prosecutors allege that Chonghaejin, motivated by profit, routinely overloaded the ship with passengers and cargo even though its balance was substantially compromised after a remodeling.
The 6,825-ton ferry Sewol sank in waters off the southwestern island of Jindo on April 16 en route to the southern resort island of Jeju. Of the total number of people on board, only 174 were rescued while the others, mostly high school students on a school trip, perished. (Yonhap)
