- Lee Joon-seok, the captain of the sunken South Korean ferry Sewol, on the left, arrives at Gwangju District Court in Gwangju, South Korea, Monday, Oct. 27, 2014.
- Associated Press
South Korean prosecutors called for the captain of the ferry “Sewol” that sank in April to receive the death penalty during closing arguments in the trial of the crew on Monday.
Kang Wu-ye, a criminal law professor at the Korea Maritime and Ocean University, said the call for the death penalty was unusual and reflected social pressure on the prosecution to seek the maximum punishment for Lee Jun-seok, who has been widely reviled for his role in the tragedy.
A verdict is due in the trial on Nov. 11, but even if Mr. Lee is given a death sentence, it’s unlikely he’ll be executed. South Korea has a de facto moratorium on the death penalty, with the most recent execution taking place in 1997. In recent years, however, government officials have raised publicly the possibility of resuming executions.
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