The South Korean captain of the Sewol ferry, who abandoned the ferry killing 304 people mostly children in 2014, has been sentenced to life in prison on a murder charge, a change from an earlier conviction of 36 years.
The Gwangju High Court convicted Lee Joon-seok of homicide by willful negligence on the ferry that sank off the southwest coast on April 16, 2014, Yonhap reported.
Acquitting him of murder charges, a lower court had earlier convicted the 70-year-old of gross negligence, sentencing him to 36 years.
Most of the 304 victims were high school students on a trip to the southern resort island of Jeju from Incheon, west of Seoul.
The life sentence is seen as a symbolic increase from 36 years because the captain is 70 years old.
Lee ordered the passengers to remain on board and failed to have them evacuate on time while he was among the first to be rescued, the court said. Prosecutors told the court the captain deserved death penalty because of the gravity of his irresponsible actions.
"The captain prematurely ended the students' lives and scarred their parents for life," said an emotional judge Seo Kyeong-hwan in tears as he handed down the verdict.
"His actions tarnished South Korea's image and could not be justified under any circumstances."
The court also sentenced 14 other crew members to 18 months to 12 years in prison, reducing previous convictions of 5 to 30 years.
Some family members watched the proceedings on TV from a courthouse in Ansan, Gyeonggi Province, where the students went to school.
They demanded heavier sentences to all crew, including captain, saying current ruling is too light for the murders of 250 children.
