Maritime police command found not guilty in ``Sewol rescue failure''... ``Not enough proof of negligence'' = South Korea

The Maritime Police Command, which was on trial for allegedly not doing enough rescue work during the Sewol Ferry accident in 2014 and causing about 400 casualties, was found not guilty.
On the 2nd, the South Korean Supreme Court ordered a total of 11 members of the Maritime Police Command, including Kim Seok-gyun, former head of the Maritime Police Agency, who were on trial on charges such as professional negligence resulting in death.
The trial court that declared the crime was confirmed. Kim Mun-hong, the former Mokpo maritime police chief, and former 3009 captain Lee Jae-doo, who were suspected of instructing them to fabricate the history of measures taken
The trial court's decision to find them guilty was upheld, and they were sentenced to 1 year and 6 months in prison, suspended for 3 years, and 6 months in prison, suspended for 2 years.
The defendants did not adequately carry out rescue operations during the 2014 Sewol Ferry disaster, resulting in the deaths of 303 people and the loss of 142 others.
He was charged with causing bodily harm. He was declared not guilty in the first and second trials. Prior to this, the Sewol Ferry Accident Special Investigation Team announced in February 2020, ``Properly understand, command, and control the situation at the scene of the Sewol Ferry.''
"Despite the fact that they should have taken control of the ship, guided them to leave the ship quickly, and instructed them to approach the ship, they failed to provide sufficient rescue, resulting in increased loss of life," the agency said in an indictment against Agency Director Kim Former and others.
The trial court acquitted the defendants, stating that it was difficult to admit professional negligence. The trial chamber said, ``The defendants were rescued by the captain and crew of the Sewol.''
It is judged that they could not have foreseen the situation in which the Sewol passengers abandoned their duties and evacuated, or the passengers on the Sewol remained on board the ship without being ready to leave the ship.''
It appears that it was difficult to determine that the ship was so close to sinking that it would be necessary to stop the ship, and that the captain should give the order to leave the ship.''
Furthermore, ``At the time of the accident, rescue personnel did not have a video transmission system, and the defendants
It was difficult for the defendants to recognize the situation of the passengers on board the ship and the urgency of the sinking situation.'' rescue mission
"It is difficult to conclude that there was any professional negligence related to this matter," he added. The second umpire's decision was similar. The trial chamber stated, ``At the time of the accident, the situation room of the Sohae (West Sea, Yellow Sea) Regional Maritime Police Agency was
Jindo) The information received from the maritime traffic control system (VTS) was limited information that indicated that the Sewol was leaning at an angle of about 50 degrees and asked whether passengers could make an emergency evacuation.
It would have been difficult to foresee the fact that passengers were still waiting on board even though the sinking of the Sewol was imminent."
The Supreme Court accepted the lower court's judgment that there was insufficient proof of professional negligence. The Supreme Court
``The trial court's decision to find the defendants not guilty was not due to a misunderstanding of the legal doctrine regarding breach of duty of care in the course of business, or an error in judgment.''