The captain of a ferry that sank earlier this year, leaving more than 300 people dead and shocking South Korea, was given a 36-year prison sentence on Tuesday for negligence and abandoning his passengers.

The Gwangju District Court in southern South Korea acquitted Captain Lee Joon-seok of a homicide charge because it was difficult to believe that he knew his actions would cause such a huge number of deaths, according to a court statement.

After the sentencing, the Public Officer at Gwangju District Court Hahn Ji-hyung explained to journalists that in order for a murder charge to be admitted there would have to be proof of wilful negligence.

But it had been shown that Lee had issued an evacuation order as the vessel sank.

The widely vilified Lee could have received a death sentence for the homicide charge.

South Korea hasn't executed anyone since late 1997, though its courts occasionally issue the punishment.

Lee has apologised for abandoning the passengers, but said he didn't know his actions would lead to so many deaths.

The court sentenced the ship's chief engineer to 30 years in prison and 13 others to up to 20 years in prison, the court statement said.

The highly anticipated verdict came amid continuing grief and finger-pointing over one of the worst disasters in South Korean history.

AP TELEVISION

Gwangju - 11 November 2014

1. Public Officer (Judge) at Gwangju District Court, Hahn Ji-hyung, preparing for interview

2. Close of Hahn getting ready to answer questions from South Korean journalists

3. SOUNDBITE: (Korean) Hahn Ji-hyung, Public Officer (Judge) at Gwangju District Court:

"In order for the murder by omission charge to be admitted there has to be a proof that there was wilful negligence. However, the verdict states that the evidence that has been submitted is not enough to prove wilful negligence."

4. Wide of Hahn being interviewed

5. SOUNDBITE: (Korean) Hahn Ji-hyung, Public Officer at Gwangju District Court:

"In the situation, in which the defendants were found not guilty of the murder charge, they were found guilty of causing death by negligence, breach of professional duty and violation of marine environment preservation. At the moment the combined maximum sentence for the three charges is 36 years. In the case of Captain Lee Joon-seok (of Sewol Ferry), after consideration of several points, (the judge) handed down the maximum penalty of 36 years."

6. Hahn being interviewed

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Gwangju - 28 April 2015

1. News conference by the representatives of Sewol ferry victims' families in front of the Gwangju High Court

2. Sign reading (Korean) "There are still people inside the Sewol Ferry. Salvage the ferry immediately. Zero rescued, is this a nation?"

3. Father of Sewol ferry victim Jeon Chan-ho and representative of Sewol ferry victims' families Jeon Myung-sun speaking before the media

4. SOUNDBITE: (Korean) Jeon Myung-sun, father of Sewol ferry victim Jeon Chan-ho and representative of Sewol ferry victims' families

"Hearing the result of this sentencing trial, they sentenced captain Lee Joon-seok 36 years in prison during the first trial, haven't they? Who will eventually die when he gets old. However, if he was convicted on homicide charges, he should have received death penalty. Imprisonment for life? They want to give life sentence to a person so that he can peacefully die when he is old?"

5. Close of a sign reading (Korean) "Ferry Sewol Disaster. Prosecutors must thoroughly investigate and the court should fairly decide."

6. Wide of Jeon talking in front of the court

7. SOUNDBITE: (Korean) Jeon Myung-sun, father of Sewol ferry victim Jeon Chan-ho and representative of Sewol ferry victims' families

"It doesn't end here. We will not accept this court's decision, and we will take this to the Supreme Court."

8. Cho Sun-ae, mother of Sewol ferry victim Kang Hyuk, talking in front of the court

9. SOUNDBITE: (Korean) Cho Sun-ae, 47, Mother of Ferry Sewol victim Kang Hyuk

"The sentencing have been reduced by one and a half and one third and it has become an occasion to lessen the punishment of the crew. I am deeply saddened. Today's result has brought a big disappointment to us families."

10. Close of signs, reading in Korean "Punish those who are responsible for the ferry Sewol disaster," and "The court must unveil the truth, which the government is trying to hide."

11. News conference

12. Court spokesman Jeon Ilho taking his seat

13. SOUNDBITE: (Korean) Jeon Ilho, Gwangju High Court Public Relations Officer:

"The Appeal Court considered the fact that an announcement was made urging the passengers to stay put, even though the captain and crew members were escaping and the measures regarding the order to abandon ship were not taken. Based on these facts, the court found that the crew members did not give the order to abandon the ship and acknowledged that Captain Lee Jun-seok was guilty of wilful negligence."

14. Jeon briefing the media

15. SOUNDBITE: (Korean) Jeon Ilho, Gwangju High Court Public Relations Officer:

"While punishing Captain Lee Jun-seok for not living up to his important responsibility as the captain, the crew members, who follow the captain's orders, got their sentences reduced. It is based on the recently set standards for derelict crimes, (on the) measures they took to rescue the passengers, the reason they came on board in the first place and their medical conditions. As a result, Captain Lee Jun-seok gets the life sentence and the rest of the crew got the sentences ranging from one and a half to 12 years."

16. Close of Jeon talking

17. Jeon talking to the media

STORYLINE

The South Korean ferry captain responsible for last year's disaster that killed more than 300 people, mostly school children, was given an increased sentence of life in prison on Tuesday by an appellate court that convicted him of homicide.

A district court in November had sentenced Lee Joon-seok to 36 years in prison for negligence and abandoning passengers in need but acquitted him of homicide in the Sewol ferry disaster.

Victims' relatives criticised both verdicts, saying it was too lenient.

"He should have received death penalty. Imprisonment for life? They want to give life sentence to a person so that he can peacefully die when he is old?" Jeon Myung-sun, father of Sewol ferry victim Jeon Chan-ho told the protesting families of the victims who had staged a demonstration outside Gwangju High Court.

Lee's sentence was increased because the Gwangju High Court additionally convicted him on the homicide charges while upholding most of other charges that led to his November conviction.

Last week, South Korea formally announced it would salvage the ship from the ocean floor off the country's southwest coast.

Relatives of the victims hope that might locate the missing, including four students, and help reveal more details about the sinking.

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