[News Today] SEWOL STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS ENDS

[LEAD]
The statute of limitations for the Sewol ferry tragedy, that claimed 304 lives, expired yesterday. Captain Lee Joon-seok and several crew members have been convicted. But former Korea Coast Guard Chief Kim Seok-kyun and most of the coast guard commands were acquitted. Some trials are still contining.

[REPORT]
On Tuesday, 10 and a half years since the Sewol ferry tragedy, the statute of limitations for all related criminal charges expired.

The statute of limitations for professional negligence resulting in death is seven years, but it had been suspended during the three and a half year operation of the special investigation committee on social disasters.

Launched in November 2019, the prosecution's special unit investigating the Sewol ferry sinking has transferred for trial only two of the 17 investigated cases.

Lim Kwan-hyuk / Prosecution's special probe unit (2021)
It is important to thoroughly investigate various accusations and reveal the truth even if no indictment can be made.

Former Coast Guard Chief Kim Seok-kyun and other Korea Coast Guard officials, accused of failed rescue efforts in the first response, were mostly acquitted last November.

Former officials from the Park Geun-hye administration, including former presidential chief of staff Lee Byung-kee, accused of obstructing the Sewol investigation, were acquitted in both the first and second trials. They are currently awaiting the Supreme Court's ruling.

Yu Ha-kyung / Lawyers for a Democratic Society
Coast Guard officials were acquitted for incompetence and ex-Cheongwadae officials, their duties were considered too broad, making civil damage claims difficult.

Though prosecutors cleared charges in the case of Lim Kyung-bin, who died after being transported by boat instead of a helicopter, a civil court ruled in the first trial that the state must pay his parents 10 million won, or around 7,300 dollars, each in compensation.

The ruling recognizes the Coast Guard's liability for neglecting its obligation to transport the injured swiftly.

Jeon In-sook / Lim Kyung-bin's mother
The Coast Guard keeps saying they no longer have the relevant documents because too much time has passed.

Although the statute of limitations has expired and those responsible no longer face criminal charges, civil lawsuits filed by the victims' relatives are still in progress.