COURT ACQUITS FORMER COAST GUARD OFFICIALS

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The first court verdict has been issued on the Coast Guard's response to the Sewol ferry sinking -- seven years after the tragedy. The Coast Guard was sued for negligience resulting in the deaths of some 400 passengers. After a one-year trial, the court has ruled that the Coast Guard was not guilty.

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More than 300 passengers died and some 100 others were injured in the Sewol ferry disaster. Last year, prosecutors investigating the tragedy indicted ten Korea Coast Guard officials, including former chief Kim Seok-kyun, for negligence when instructing rescuers at the time of the sinking. However, after a one-year trial, the court ruled that the defendants were not guilty. The verdict states that although the tragedy has exposed clear limitations in the Coast Guard's rescue and command capabilities and caused unspeakable suffering to the Korean public, the disaster was hard to foresee. The judges said the Coast Guard had no idea the ferry's captain and crew escaped first without telling the passengers on board to escape. The court noted that even if the Coast Guard's then-chief had contacted the ferry directly and instructed the crew to prepare for evacuation, the crew would have either ignored the instructions or given a false response. The court pointed out it was difficult to predict the ferry would sink in just ten minutes due to technical problems. The judges also cited the lack of rescue capabilities such as boats and helicopters as well as poor communication. They said although the Coast Guard deserves reprimand for its poor disaster response, charging its former chief with a criminal offense would be inappropriate.

[Soundbite] Kim Suk-Kyoon(Ex-chief of Korea Coast Guard) : "I once again offer an apology and consolation for failing to prevent the accident."

However, the court has given three years of probation to the former chief of the Mokpo Coast Guard, who had been sentenced to one and a half years in jail for instructing his staff to draft fabricated documents saying he had ordered the passengers' escape. The investigators of the Sewol ferry disaster say the verdict is unacceptable and have vowed to appeal.