South Korea conducted a nationwide emergency exercise on Friday to raise awareness about fire safety.

The Mayor of Seoul Park Won-soon, took part in the training outside Seoul City Hall, learning how to use a fire extinguisher and fire hose.

City Hall was evacuated and its employees were trained in safety fire safety and resuscitation techniques.

It was the first nationwide safety drill to be conducted since the Sewol ferry disaster in April.

AP TELEVISION

1. Various of government employees in mock evacuation of Seoul City Hall

2. Mayor of Seoul, Park Won-soon and other civil workers putting out fire with fire extinguishers

3. Close-up of Park and workers after using fire extinguisher

4. Various of Park using fire hose

5. SOUNDBITE (Korean) Song Doo-suk, Director of Civil Defence Division:

"This Civilian Defence Exercise is a nationwide fire evacuation drill, that took place after the Sewol Ferry disaster. Through this exercise, (we) hope awareness about fire safety among civilians will rise."

6. Various of man demonstrating use of fire extinguisher

7. Various of women practicing resuscitation techniques

Across the South Korean capital, Seoul, spring festivities have been put on hold out of respect to the victims of the Sewol ferry disaster and their families.

Instead of celebrating a season associated with renewal and rebirth, Seoul residents from many walks of life said on Tuesday they found it far more appropriate to join together in mourning.

In light of the tragedy, Seoul National University student council decided to postpone their spring festival scheduled for May, after their midterm exams.

The Sheraton Grande Walkerhill Hotel has cancelled its "signature events", like wine and beer fairs, in recognition of the national mourning which has so many South Koreans in its thrall.

Kim Hong-hee, director of the Seoul Museum of Art (SeMA), said the museum has chosen not to go ahead with a number of events in its spring schedule.

"We thought that in this current nationwide atmosphere of mourning, for the Sewol ferry sinking, such events were a little inappropriate," she said.

Nearly a week has passed since the Sewol ferry sank off South Korea's southern coast on 16 April.

The confirmed death toll from the disaster reached 113 on Tuesday, officials said, and about 190 people were still missing, thought to be trapped underwater inside the sunken vessel.

AP TELEVISION

1. Wide of memorial for the victims of the Sewol ferry accident outside the student union building at Seoul National University (SNU)

2. Tilt of poster announcing that the student council has unanimously voted to cancel the upcoming spring festival, reads (Korean): "Announcement to the students of Seoul National University regarding the Sewol incident by the Student Council"

3. Mid of SNU students in front of the memorial wall covered in ribbons

4. Various of student writing a message on a ribbon

5. Pull out of pink ribbon reading (Korean): "Hoping for a miracle" to students pinning ribbons

6. Mid of SNU Student Council President Yi Kyoung-hwan

7. Close of Student Council meeting agenda notes (number four is on the discussion of cancelling the spring festival)

8. SOUNDBITE (Korean) Yi Kyoung-hwan, 27, Student Council President at Seoul National University:

"When taking into consideration the (current) sentiment of South Koreans, outside of classes, there is a strong element of having fun in holding a festival. In light of this current, extremely tragic disaster, the students preparing the festival could not focus on the festival in a cheerful way. So the student council held a meeting and decided to cancel the festival."

9. Pan from poster reading (Korean): "We sincerely wish the safe return of the missing passengers on the Sewol, from the 56th SNU student council" to student writing a message by the memorial wall

10. Close of pink ribbon reading (Korean): "I will be praying for your safety"

11. SOUNDBITE (Korean) Jeong Jun-ho, 23, Seoul National University student:

"Many people were hurt in Jindo because of the (Sewol ferry) accident, and even now they are looking for the missing (passengers). Even though it's important for us students to have fun and really enjoy the festival, I personally think that it's a good thing to cancel the festival, so that we can grieve and mourn together."

12. Tilt of Sheraton Grande Walkerhill Hotel exterior

13. Close of the Sheraton Grande Walkerhill Hotel logo

14. Mid of Kim Do-young, Operations Management Director at Sheraton Grande Walkerhill Hotel

15. SOUNDBITE (Korean) Kim Do-young, Operations Management Director at Sheraton Grande Walkerhill Hotel:

"This incident, regarding the Sewol Ferry, has led to an atmosphere of mourning across the nation. At our hotel, the Sheraton Grande Walkerhill, we also want to take part in this by temporarily postponing our signature events, such as our wine fair or beer fair."

16. Wide of Seoul Museum of Art (SeMA) exterior

17. Close of "Seoul Museum of Art" sign

18. Mid of Kim Hong-hee, director of SeMA in office

19. SOUNDBITE (Korean) Kim Hong-hee, director of the Seoul Museum of Art (SeMA):

"It's spring. There are a lot of events in spring, and at events where many people gather, it turns into a festive atmosphere. We thought that in this current nationwide atmosphere of mourning, for the Sewol ferry sinking, such events were a little inappropriate."

20. Mid of museum exhibition posters

21. Various of woman taking photo of friend in front of the museum

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

A sightseeing picnic ended in tragedy at Yoju, fifty miles south of Seoul, when an overloaded ferry capsized only ten yards from its landing berth. Scenes of the wreckage and the many coffins in the temproary mortuary.

1. ws remains of boat

2. ws man steps onto sunken hull

3. vs coffins in morgue, women and men crying over coffins

4. mcu mother led away sobbing, apn to man crying over coffin

5. ws sobbing woman on open coffin

6. ms men lift and carry coffin

7. vs coffins on loaded onto trucks

Film: Neg - Sound: Mute - B&W - NYFilm: a0000503 - LN Number: LN36051 - Available in HD

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

Parents of Danwon High school students who died when a ferry sank off South Korea's southern coast gathered at Paengmok Port in Jindo on Thursday, to condemn the South Korean government for not doing more to save their children.

The parents, who arrived in buses from Ansan, where Danwon High school is located, gathered in front of a tent being used as the government situation room.

They shouted criticisms against the South Korean government for not being able to rescue any more missing passengers than the 174 passengers who were rescued on the first day.

After a short gathering they marched up and down the port, chanting their children's names and carrying various signs written in Korean condemning the government.

They ended the march by shouting out their children's names.

Two weeks after the ferry sank off South Korea's southern coast, 219 have now been confirmed dead, according to the South Korean coast guard.

AP TELEVISION

1. Wide of parents of deceased Danwon High school students gathering at Paengmok Port in Jindo

2. Various of parents shouting

3. Man facing crowd, shouting and waving fist

4. Zoom in to parents starting to march up and down the port

5. Various of parents marching with placards and chanting

6. Woman crying

7. Mid of parents marching and chanting

8. Close of sign reading: (Korean) "Why is my child in the sea when he should at school?"

9. Wide of parents shouting out their children's names

FOR CLEAN VERSION SEE STORY NUMBER: 2000053

Angry relatives of those still missing following South Korea's ferry disaster surrounded senior officials on Thursday and refused to let them leave a meeting until their demands for a speedy recovery of their loved ones' remains were met.

The families accused the authorities of lying to them about how the operation was progressing and told the officials they didn't have a grasp of details.

Frustration simmered throughout Thursday, the day the families had set as a deadline to find the bodies of those still missing.

Minister of Oceans and Fisheries, Lee Ju-young, and the Korean coast guard's chief Kim Seok-kyun and deputy chief Choi Sang-hwan were forced to sit down, surrounded by angry relatives.

Battling to be heard above the shouts of derision, Lee Ju-young said he had told the coast guard to work on the recovery mission "as if you are going to sacrifice yourself".

Relatives fear that with time running out, the remains of their loved ones will start to decompose, adding to their distress.

More than 170 bodies have been recovered, but around 130 remain somewhere within the sunken ship or the surrounding waters.

1. Wide zoom-in of one enraged female relative of missing passenger grabbing and pushing Lee Ju-young, Minister of Oceans and Fisheries

2. Wide of relatives shouting at officials

3. Mid of female relatives pushing and shouting at Lee Ju-young

4. Mid of female relatives shouting at the officials to answer

5. Mid of other female relatives crying

6. Close of Chief of Korean coast guard Kim Seok-kyun

7. Close of Lee Ju-young with his head bowed

8. Close of female relatives

9. Missing passenger's photo hanging on the neck of relative

10. Wide of angry relatives shouting at officials

11. Female relative UPSOUND (Korean) "You are evading the question," pan to Kim Seok-kyun

12. Close of female relatives

Prosecutors investigating the sinking of South Korean ferry Sewol seized documents and recordings from a coast guard office in Mokpo on Monday.

The seizure is part of investigators' efforts to expand the probe into how the coast guard and other rescuers responded after learning the ferry was sinking.

A senior prosecutor said they would do the same at an emergency call service centre that received a call from a student on the ship reporting the sinking.

Prosecutors also plan to question officials from the company that maintained and inspected life rafts and safety facilities on the ferry.

The prosecutor said they will also focus their investigations on other factors that could have affected the ship's sinking, including cargo stowage and an earlier remodelling of the ship.

Divers on Monday renewed their search for more than 100 bodies still trapped in the ferry after weekend efforts were hindered by bad weather, strong currents and floating debris clogging the ship's rooms.

AP TELEVISION

1. Various of prosecutors entering coast guard office

2. Security outside office as prosecutors are inside

3. Prosecutors carrying boxes of documents out of office

4. Prosecutors putting boxes into car

5. Prosecutors getting into car

6. Cars leaving site

A growing number of South Koreans are joining a "yellow ribbon" campaign, to show their support for families still waiting for news of their loved ones who were on the ferry that sank on April 16.

To ease national grief, college students are encouraging people to wear yellow ribbons, a custom borrowed from the US to express hope that the missing will return, and change their online profile pictures to include yellow ribbons to support victims.

The campaign was started by a group of around 30 university students - members of a student organisation from various campuses called "Autonomous, Alter, Active Life Together" (ALT) - and swiftly spread across the country.

"The original meaning of the yellow ribbon is the wish for a safe return," said Lee Min-joo, a member of ALT.

South Korea mourns one of its worst ever disasters, a ferry sinking off the southwestern coast near Jindo Island, that will likely result in the death of more than 300 people, most of them high school children.

AP TELEVISION

Ansan - 24 April 2014

1. Wide of yellow ribbons outside Danwon High School, where a majority of Sewol ferry passengers were from

2. Close-up of yellow ribbons

3. Medium of yellow ribbons on main gate of Danwon High School

Seoul - 24 April 2014

4. Medium of yellow ribbons in downtown Seoul

5. Medium South Koreans writing message on ribbons by Cheonggye stream

6. Close-up of woman's hand writing message on ribbon

7. Close-up and zoom-out of yellow ribbon being tied

8. SOUNDBITE (Korean) Yang Hee-soo, 49, office worker:

"(The passengers on the ferry) must be very scared and cold and suffering, but (I hung the ribbon) in the hope that they will forget it quickly and be in peace."

9. SOUNDBITE (Korean) Yang Dong-yoon, 54, banker

"As a South Korean citizen, because I could not prevent the deaths of such young students and great teachers, I hung that yellow ribbon with a very heavy heart."

10. Medium reverse shot of a woman tying a ribbon

11. Close-up of various yellow ribbons with messages such as: (Korean) "Return in peace" and "Sorry" and "I love you"

12. Medium of Lee Min-joo, member of the student group that began the yellow ribbon campaign

13. SOUNDBITE (Korean) Lee Min-joo, member of group which began yellow ribbon campaign:

"Yes, the original meaning of the yellow ribbon is the wish for a safe return. I hope that we can participate (in this campaign) in that spirit, and be a true comfort to the victims and share in their sorrow."

14. Close-up of a cell-phone showing profile pictures, which have been changed to yellow ribbon image

15. Medium of two women looking at their cell-phones

16. Close-up of yellow ribbon image shown on cell-phone screen; beneath ribbon is written: (Korean) "May one small move make a big miracle"

17. Medium of woman tying yellow ribbon

18. Wide of Cheonggye stream with string of yellow ribbons on both sides

Frustrated relatives of those on sunken ferry Sewol on Friday allowed South Korean officials to leave a tent at a port on the island of Jindo where they had been held overnight.

The relatives, angry over the pace of the rescue mission, staged a marathon confrontation with the officials on Thursday night, surrounding them in a standoff that lasted into Friday morning.

The frustrated families have been waiting for more than a week on the island for word of their loved ones.

On Friday morning, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Lee Ju-young, was seen still sitting on the floor of the tent where he had spent the night despite being allowed to leave.

The tent is where officials post information about the newly recovered dead.

Lee, coast guard chief Kim Seok-kyun and deputy chief Choi Sang-hwan were crowded by dozens on Thursday as the officials sat on the ground and tried to explain the search efforts.

Relatives were also angry about the pace of divers who have recovered 183 bodies so far but may have nearly 120 left to find in the dark rooms of the submerged vessel.

The ferry sank April 16 on its way from Incheon port to the southern tourist island of Jeju.

More than 80 percent of the 302 dead and missing are students from a single high school in Ansan, south of Seoul.

Eleven crew members, including the captain, have been arrested on suspicion of negligence and abandoning people in need.

AP TELEVISION

1. Top shot of tents on pier at Paengmok port

2. Boat on water

3. Various of relatives of missing passengers standing outside tent

4. Various of Lee Ju-young, Oceans and Fisheries minister, inside tent

5. Various of man looking at messages of condolence left on message board

6. Tilt down of messages on board

7. Police vessel arriving in port

8. Various of emergency workers moving recovered body in body bag on deck of boat

9. Mid of South Korean flag

10. Ambulance driving away

11. Man kneeling in water, praying with paper offering

12. Paper offering floating in water

13. Various of Buddhist monk ringing bell and chanting mantra

14. Various of man praying next to Buddhist monk

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

A French judge has refused a request to free the daughter of a South Korean tycoon who is thought to be the owner of a ferry that sank in April, leaving more than 300 people dead or missing.

French police arrested Yoo Somena on May 27 an international arrest warrant on suspicion of involvement in embezzling 8 million US dollars between 2004 and 2013.

She is the daughter of Yoo Byung-eun, a mysterious billionaire who South Korean authorities believe was the owner of the Sewol ferry.

The judge said on Wednesday that Yoo Somena, who is facing extradition to South Korea, might flee France where she has been resident since the beginning of 2013.

He noted that Yoo's brother, who also lived in France, disappeared in April.

Yoo's lawyer, said that she might get an "unfair trial" if she is extradited to South Korea.

"South Korean authorities will mistreat Madame Yoo the moment she steps foot in a Korean trial," Maisonneuve said.

He added that Yoo feels she is a victim of harassment by South Korean authorities.

AP TELEVISION

1. Exterior of Palais de Justice

2. Interior of Palais de Justice

3. Sign reading (French) "Appeals Court"

4. Patrick Maisonneuve, Yoo Somena's lawyer, walking towards media

5. Various of courtroom sketch of Yoo Somena during hearing, stuck on wall

6. SOUNDBITE: (French) Patrick Maisonneuve, Yoo Somena's lawyer:

"What the president of the court clearly told her: Madame, your father, your brothers are said to be on the run so consequently, in line with that, you should remain in detention, even though she has all the required guarantees for France."

7. Courtroom sketch

8. SOUNDBITE: (French) Patrick Maisonneuve, Yoo Somena's lawyer:

"We don't really understand what she is being blamed for or in any case in as far as embezzlement is concerned, we submitted documents related to that claim. The court has them. This will probably not be of interest to the South Korean authorities because the South Korean authorities are looking for those responsible for this tragic ferry accident."

9. Close up of courtroom sketch

10. SOUNDBITE: (French) Patrick Maisonneuve, Yoo Somena's lawyer:

"She feels she is the victim of harassment by South Korean authorities. This is why she doesn't want to go to South Korea, that she will not accept being extradited and I can assure you we will do everything possible, even go to the European Court of Justice (to prevent it)."

11. Maisonneuve talking to media

12. SOUNDBITE: (French) Patrick Maisonneuve, Yoo Somena's lawyer:

"There is no guarantee that in South Korea she could get a fair trial. No guarantees today. And I think that she might even get an unfair trial. I am saying this openly, you can relay it: South Korean authorities will mistreat Madame Yoo the moment she steps foot in a Korean trial."

13. Maisonneuve leaving

Students who survived South Korea's Sewol ferry disaster were continuing their witness testimonies on Tuesday at the Ansan branch of the Suwon District Court.

On Monday students had testified that they were repeatedly ordered by loudspeaker to stay in the sinking ship, but eventually helped each other flee after their cabins flooded.

The six girls spoke at a court session for 15 crew members responsible for the ship's navigation who face charges of negligence and failing to perform their duties to rescue passengers, with four of them facing homicide charges.

The students from Danwon High School near Seoul revealed how chaotic the scene on the ferry was, saying they wore life jackets and were helped by friends to float out and leave flooded rooms.

One of them said she saw some schoolmates swept away by the waters.

The April 16 sinking left more than 300 people dead or missing, most of them Danwon students who were travelling to the southern island of Jeju for a school trip.

A total of 325 Danwon students were aboard the ship but only 75 survived, according to local officials.

AP TELEVISION

1. Bus carrying Danwon High School students pulling up to Ansan Branch Court for the second day of testimony in the Sewol ferry disaster trial

2. Students getting off of bus

3. Police officers secure the path as students enter court

4. Students getting off bus

5. Police in front of court entrance

6. Doors to court closing

7. Sign that reads (Korean) "Court"

8. Exterior of Ansan court

The confirmed death toll from South Korea's ferry disaster rose past 50 on Sunday as divers finally found a way inside the sunken vessel, quickly discovering more than a dozen bodies in what almost certainly is just the beginning of a massive and grim recovery effort.

About 250 people are still missing from the ship, the vast majority of them high school students who had been on a holiday trip.

The ferry, Sewol, sank Wednesday off South Korea's southern coast, but it took days for divers to get in because of strong currents and bad visibility due to foul weather.

Beginning late Saturday, when divers broke a window, and continuing into Sunday, multiple teams of divers have found various routes into the ferry, discovering bodies in different spots, a coast guard official Koh Myung-seok said at a briefing.

Thirteen bodies have been found in the ship, while six other bodies were found floating outside Sunday, bringing the official death toll to 52, the coast guard said.

Divers, who once pumped air into the ship in the slim hope that survivors were inside, have yet to find anyone alive there.

1. Various of Korean Coast Guards on Coast Guard boat examining three bodies in body bags recovered from the sea at the site of the sinking of the Sewol ferry

2. Pan Coast Guard officer walking on the boat towards the direction where bodies are being examined

3. Close up body bags

4. Wide Korean Navy boat searching in the area where the ship Seowl sank

5. Wide rescue operation

6. Wide coast guards and other rescue units searching the area where ship sank

7. Wide Korean special unit UDT Seal searching the area

8. Various of rescue units searching

9. Mid Coast guards loading a recovered body onto a Korean police boat

10. Wide Korean Coast Guards boat next to Police boat

11. Military helicopter flying over the area of the recovery mission

12. Wide crane

13. Close crane

14. Coast guards on boat

South Korea's state-run forensic lab said on Friday it had failed to find why a fugitive billionaire, blamed for April's Sewol ferry disaster, had died.

Police said earlier this week that a badly decomposed body found in rural South Korea last month had been identified as that of Yoo Byung-eun.

Authorities had been looking for the 73-year-old, believing he owned the sunken ferry, and that his alleged corruption may have contributed to the disaster.

The state-run National Forensic Service said on Friday that Yoo's body was too badly decayed to determine whether he died of disease.

April's disaster, the worst in South Korea in decades, left more than 300 people dead or missing, mostly high school students.

AP TELEVISION

1. Seo Joong-seok, Director General of the National Forensic Service, standing at lectern to announce results of an investigation into the death of Yoo Byung-eun, fugitive owner of the Sewol ferry

2. Wide of the auditorium

3. SOUNDBITE (Korean) Seo Joong-seok, Director General of the National Forensic Service (NFS):

"In summarising the investigation result, the dead body found in Suncheon can be confirmed as Yoo Byung-eun. Even though we tried to investigate various causes of his death, the NFS could not find out the exact cause of Yoo's death under the given circumstances."

4. Mid of journalists

5. Close of slide that shows Yoo's decayed body

6. SOUNDBITE (Korean) Baek Seung-kyeong, Head of Drug, Poison, and Chemical Department at the NFS:

"This is a summarisation of the investigation result from the autopsy room. No unusual toxic substances were found in the liver-lung muscle, but a bit of alcoholic substance was found. However, it was below the general concentration level that can be found in ordinary decaying tissue."

7. Mid of journalists

8. Mid of the auditorium

9. SOUNDBITE (Korean) Lee Han-young, Head of Forensic Medicine at the NFS:

"We, forensic scientists, say it is absolutely possible that the body can be reduced to skeleton, more precisely decomposed, in such a short period of time. Therefore it can be said that this matter should not be a controversy even among yourselves."

10. Mid of journalists

11. Wide of the auditorium

Relatives of the missing passengers of the Sewol ship waited at a gymnasium on the South Korean island of Jindo on Thursday for news of their loved ones.

The island is close to where the ferry sank.

Fourteen people, including a female crew member, at least five students and two teachers, were confirmed dead by coast guard officials on Thursday night.

But the toll was expected to jump amid fears that more than 280 missing passengers - many high school students - were dead.

Coast guard officials put the number of survivors on Thursday at 179.

A team of volunteers from South Korea's Post Disaster Psychosocial Care Centre were working with relatives at the gymnasium.

The team's president Choi Tae-san said that the families felt "very powerless" because there was nothing practical they could do to help in the search.

The Sewol, a 146-metre (480-foot) vessel that can hold more than 900 people, set sail on Tuesday from Incheon, in northwestern South Korea, on an overnight, 14-hour journey to the tourist island of Jeju.

The ferry was three hours from its destination on Wednesday when it sent a distress call after it began listing to one side, according to the Ministry of Security and Public Administration.

1. Family member of a missing passenger praying

2. Various of family members in gymnasium

3. Close-up of lights

4. Wide of the gymnasium acting as shelter for relatives

5. President of the South Korean Post-Disaster Psychosocial Care Centre Association Choi Tae-san with family members

6. SOUNDBITE (Korean) Choi Tae-san, 55, President of Korean Post-Disaster Psychosocial Care Centre Association

"We and the nation cannot practically do anything to help the people on board which is very sad. Because of this especially, the parents of the missing students on board feel very powerless."

7. Wide of families

8. Close-up of child

9. Wide of relatives watching news outside the gymnasium

10. Close-up of TV screen

11. Wide of exterior of Jindo Gymnasium where the family members of the missing passengers are staying ++NIGHT SHOT++

Emotions ran high on Wednesday as students who survived the sinking of the South Korean ferry 'Sewol' returned to their high school in Ansan 10 weeks after the disaster.

Making their way up the road to Danwon High School, around 70 students were greeted by parents of classmates who were among the more than 300 dead or missing.

Hugging each other through tears, they were encouraged by group of teachers holding signs that read

One of the survivors, Shin Young-jin, addressed the students, parents and teachers before school began for the day and said all they could do for their lost loved ones was to honour their memories.

"We ask that the citizens of this country also never forget them," he said.

Their return to school came a day after 15 crew members from the ferry were in court for the start of their trial on charges of negligence and of failing to perform their duty to rescue passengers.

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.

The defence has denied there was collusion, saying the crew members were confused, some were injured and some panicked.

Captain Lee Joon-seok and three other crew members have also been charged with homicide, a charge which could carry the death penalty, though South Korea has not executed anyone since 1997.

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1. Various of students exiting bus

2. Various of students walking up road towards school, greeting parents of victims

3. Woman crying

4. Students greeting parents of victims

5. Woman hugging student, crying

6. Various of teachers holding banners of encouragement for students including one that reads (Korean) "I love you"

7. SOUNDBITE (Korean) Shin Young-jin, Sewol ferry disaster survivor:

"We will not forget them because we know now that is the best we can do for them. Our memories of them may become memories of guilt, and we may feel sorry towards them because there are many things we will be unable to do together. Just like we cannot forget them, we ask that the citizens of this country also never forget them. For the adults who lead us, through an exhaustive search, we ask that you find those responsible for this crime."

8. Various of students clasping hands, head down

9. SOUNDBITE (Korean) Shin Young-jin, Sewol ferry disaster survivor:

"Why did our friends and our teachers had to become victims? Why did the rescue effort not proceed properly and more were claimed as victims? We ask that there are proper investigations into this. We hope that you will create a safer nation so that such accidents never happen again. They say that when a person really dies, there comes a time to move on. Once again, I ask you to do this."

10. Wide of school

11. Various of parents greeting one another

12. Various of students walking towards school

13. Tilt down from sign that reads (Korean) "We ask for prayers for the dead"

Students who lost classmates in last week's South Korean ferry disaster went back to school without them for the first time on Thursday, while people streamed into a makeshift memorial nearby to pay their respects to the dead.

The victims of the April 16 disaster are overwhelmingly students of a single high school in Ansan, near Seoul.

At the school on Thursday, students filed to classes past a makeshift shrine of yellow ribbons, flowers and notes left in remembrance of the victims.

A hearse carrying the body of one of the students passed by in a lap of honour on its way to the cremation, followed by a bus carrying mourning relatives.

Divers made their way deeper on Thursday into the submerged wreck as the death toll passed 160 and relatives of the more than 140 still missing pressed the government to finish the grim task of recovery soon.

Meanwhile, visitors lined up at the Ansan Olympic Park, where the temporary memorial altar is located, to express their condolences.

"I am very sad, but at the same time, I also feel resentful and angry," said businessman Lee Dong-geun, after visiting the memorial.

"When I entered, I saw the faces of those students (who died) and could not fight back my tears. As an adult over 50, I feel extremely sorry for them."

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1. Various of third year students of Danwon High School returning to classes for the first time since the ferry disaster that claimed the lives of many of their classmates

2. Sign on building reading (in Korean) "Danwon High School"

3. Hearse carrying body of a student who died arriving at the school

4. Hearse and a bus carrying mourning relatives coming out of school after passing by before heading to cremation

5. Various of undertakers placing a portrait of a victim at the memorial at Ansan Olympic Park stadium

6. Various of people paying respects at memorial

7. SOUNDBITE (Korean) Lee Dong-geun, businessman:

"I am very sad, but at the same time, I also feel resentful and angry. When I entered, I saw faces of those students (who died) and could not fight back my tears. As an adult over 50, I feel extremely sorry for them."

8. SOUNDBITE (Korean) You Jae-myoung, pastor:

"South Korea is in pain, Ansan city is in pain and relatives of victims are in pain. The way we always have, I hope people bring cheer to each other so that everyone can recover."

9. Portraits of victims at memorial

10. Various of people paying respects at memorial

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