Fifteen crew members from the sunken South Korean ferry pleaded their case at a district court in South Korea on Tuesday, while the families of the hundreds of people who died in the disaster protested outside.

Kim Byung-kwon, the representative of the families of the victims, called for the death penalty for the crew of the Sewol.

The Captain (Lee Joon-seok) and three other crew members are charged with homicide - a charge that could carry the death penalty, though South Korea has not

executed anyone since late 1997.

Prosecutors accuse them of tacitly colluding to abandon the ship while being aware that the passengers would be trapped and killed when the ship sank.

All surviving crew members responsible for the ship's navigation have been charged with negligence and with failing to do their duty to protect passengers.

The captain's lawyer said the factors that caused the sinking couldn't be controlled by a captain who operated the ferry only six days a month as a contract worker.

The lawyer said the captain didn't flee the ship, tried to correct the ferry's balance and asked people to wear life vests, even though he was injured.

Members of the crew have claimed that after evacuating the ship they stayed with the Coast Guard and helped to rescue the passengers.

Nearly two months after the sinking, 292 bodies have been recovered and 12 people are still missing.

AP TELEVISION

1. Relatives of victims of Sewol ferry disaster protesting outside Gwangju District Court, where ferry crew are having a preliminary hearing, police guard the court

2. Relatives sitting on road during protest

3. Relatives holding placards reading (Korean) "Our children wait for you murderers," and "Our children's souls are watching you"

4. Various of representative of Sewol victims' families Kim Byung-kwon chanting (Korean) "Come out if you are not ashamed, come out"

5. Kim speaking to media outside court

6. SOUNDBITE (Korean) Kim Byung-kwon, representative of Sewol victims' families:

"If they do not get the death penalty, it would be nonsense that they can walk freely in our country. They do not deserve to walk freely in our country."

7. Gwangju Regional Court Judge and spokesman Hahn Jee-hyung walking in to news briefing

8. Wide of conference room

9. SOUNDBITE (Korean) Hahn Jee-hyung, Gwangju District Court Judge and spokesman:

"Generally there were assertions that the crew members did not have the intention to murder or to escape. In the case of the Captain (Lee Joon-seok), he claims he announced the order to abandon the ship before he got out of the ferry. As for the accused (crew members) Park and Oh, they said they tried to open up the life boat on board the ship and after getting out of the ferry they had been helping with the rescue of passengers along with the Coast Guard."

10. Cutaway of journalists

11. Wide of conference room

Relatives of victims of the Sewol ferry disaster said on Tuesday they will fight for justice after a South Korean court handed a 36-year sentence to the captain of the sunken ferry.

Gwangju District Court 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.

It said that Lee had issued an evacuation order.

The court did convict him however of being professionally negligent and abandoning his passengers during the disaster in April that killed more than 300 people.

Family members criticised the verdict for being too lenient, telling the media outside the court they would tighten their resolve until "we reveal the truth at the Court of Appeal through a Special Investigative Committee."

Whilst Ko Young-hee, the mother of student victim Choi Jin-hyuk said a Sewol Ferry Investigation Committee would now be formed that will collect evidence to send to the Court of Appeal.

"We will do anything to make the crew members....pay for their crimes accordingly" she added.

Prosecutors and the crew members have one week to appeal, according to the court.

The chief engineer got 30 years, and 13 other crew members were sentenced to up to 20 years in prison, Yonhap news agency and other South Korean media reported, citing the court.

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

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

A total of 476 people were aboard the ship and only 172 of them were rescued.

AP TELEVISION

Gwangju - 11 November 2014

1. News conference by family members of Danwon High School student victims from the Sewol Ferry disaster

2. Close of family members

3. Close of a mother of one student victim

4. Father of one student victim talking during the conference

5. SOUNDBITE (Korean): Park Jong-dae, father of Danwon High School student victim Park Soo-hyun:

"I kind of expected this situation (no death-penalty or life-sentence given) could occur. However, it is not even the life-sentence, but 36 years in jail. I cannot stop help myself being terrified by the fact that the rest of the crew members, as this (student victim's) mother has already said, received sentences as low as five-years in jail. I want to say 'sorry' to the children, and I want to promise them that we will tighten our resolve until we reveal the truth at the Court of Appeal through a Special Investigative Committee."

6. Journalists at news conference

7. Wide of news conference

8. SOUNDBITE (Korean): Ko Young-hee, Mother of Danwon High School student victim Choi Jin-hyuk:

"All my daily life and future has been crushed forever since the 16th of April. All mothers' lives have disappeared in such a way. Just five-years in jail to pay for what they did? Now, the Sewol Ferry Investigation Committee will be formed. We will collect every bit of evidence we have and send it to the Court of Appeal. We will do anything to make the crew members, who abandoned our children, escaped, ran away, and thought of only their lives, pay for their crimes accordingly."

9. Close of two female family members

10. Ko talking at news conference

11. Journalists at news conference

12. End of news conference

South Korean prosecutors on Monday demanded the death penalty for the captain of a ferry that sank earlier this year, killing more than 300 people.

They blamed his negligence and failure to rescue passengers in need for the massive loss of life, a court official and news reports said.

Prosecutors also requested life sentences for three other key crew members during a trial at the Gwangju District Court in southern South Korea, a court official said on condition of anonymity because he wasn't authorised to speak to the media about the sentence requests.

He said prosecutors asked for sentences of up to 30 years for 11 other crew members.

Some relatives of the victims who were present in court on Monday were not happy with the proceedings so far, however.

"We expect at least four crew members to receive death penalties including Kang Won-sik (the first mate) and the chief engineer. However, this is totally nonsense," said Kim Ki-woong, whose son was killed in the disaster.

Kim added that the truth about the disaster was not made clear and that "crew members are just trying to make excuses."

The 15 crew members tasked with the ship's navigation were among the first people rescued from the ship when it began badly listing, a source of the fierce public anger directed at them.

Most of those who died in the disaster were students from a single high school who were en route from Incheon, west of Seoul, to the resort island of Jeju on April 16.

Captain Lee Joon-seok and the three key crew members - a first mate, a second mate and the chief engineer - were indicted in May on homicide charges.

Eleven other crew members were indicted on less serious charges.

Court officials have said the court will issue verdicts on the 15 crew members in November.

The death penalty is the maximum legal sentence in South Korea, but the country has a de facto moratorium on capital punishment and has not executed anyone since December 1997.

South Korean courts, however, still occasionally issue death sentences.

The sinking, one of South Korea's deadliest disasters in decades, caused nationwide grief and fury, with authorities blaming overloading of cargo, improper storage, untimely rescue efforts and other negligence for the incident.

AP TELEVISION

Gwangju - 27 October 2014

++NIGHT SHOTS++

1. Family members of student victims from the Sewol ferry disaster leaving Gwangju District Court

2. Various of family members getting on to bus

3. Family members sitting in bus

4. SOUNDBITE: (Korean) Kim Ki-woong, Victim's father:

"We expect at least four crew members to receive death penalties including Kang Won-sik (the first mate) and the chief engineer. However, this is totally nonsense. The truth of (the disaster) is not even revealed; it (the last trial) was just a joke."

(Reporter question: are you saying the level of the sentence from the prosecutors is too low?"

"It is not only too low, but the truth is also not completely revealed. Crew members are just trying to make excuses."

5. Sign reading (Korean) " Bus for the Sewol ferry victims' families"

6. Family members on bus

7. Family members getting on to bus

8. Door on bus closes

9. Various of bus driving off

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

At a district court in South Korea on Tuesday, relatives of the victims of the Sewol ferry disaster scuffled with court officials, stopping them from entering the preliminary hearing of crew members.

Fifteen crew members from the sunken ferry appeared at Gwangju District Court to enter pleas on charges that they were negligent and failed to save the more than 300 people who died or are missing after the disaster.

Court officials said they were trying to check the family members' admission permits, but the relatives of victims accused them of siding with the accused.

Most of those killed in the 16 April Sewol ferry sinking were high school students, and many people from the students' hometown attended the hearing.

All surviving crew members responsible for the ship's navigation have been charged with negligence and with failing to do their duty to protect passengers.

AP TELEVISOIN

1. Families of victims of Sewol ferry disaster protesting at Gwangju District Court as Sewol crew arrive to enter pleas in preliminary hearing, they clash with court officials

2. Man holding sign reading (Korean): "Are you a human? You are animals", fighting with court officials

3. Families of victims being pushed back by security

4. Representative of victims' families, Kim Byung-kwon, walking into the courtroom

5. Victims' relatives passing through metal detector outside courtroom

6. Victims' relatives pushing court guards, trying to get into the courtroom

7. Interior of the courtroom, gallery full, judges sitting in background

8. Mid of judge talking

9. Relatives of victims sat in courtroom

10. Mid of people sat in courtroom

11. Mid of defence lawyers for the accused

12. Interior of courtroom

RESTRICTION SUMMARY: AP CLIENTS ONLY

SHOTLIST

AP TELEVISION - AP CLIENTS ONLY

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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