S Korea Ferry Captain: I Should Have Done More

The captain of the South Korean ferry that sunk - killing more than 300 people - has admitted to his murder trial that he should have done more to get passengers to safety.

Testifying for the first time in court, Lee Joon-Seok said his decision-making process was paralysed by shock as the boat started sinking, but insisted he had never intended to sacrifice others' lives to save himself.

Most of those who died were children when the 6,825-tonne Sewol capsized and sank on 16 April.

The captain and crew faced heavy criticism for abandoning the ferry while hundreds were still trapped inside, and for ordering passengers to remain where they were when the ship began listing.

"I was stunned by the accident and I lost my ability to make decisions," Lee told the court in the southwestern city of Gwangju.

"I failed to take the necessary measures for passengers to leave the ship.

"(But) I swear I never thought passengers should be left to die in order for me to make it to safety first."

The bespectacled Lee, dressed in a khaki prison uniform, appeared tense and stammered during his testimony.

The 69-year-old and three senior crew members are accused of "homicide through wilful negligence" - a charge that can carry the death penalty.

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Gallery: Relatives Mourn Ferry Victims

Members of the public and relatives of the victims of the South Korean ferry disaster have gathered at an official memorial altar set up in Hwarang Garden in Ansan.
Of the 476 people on board the ferry, 325 were students from the same high school in Ansan. Only 75 of them were rescued.
Meanwhile, the country's president apologised to the people of South Korea for her government's "insufficiency" in handling the tragedy. Click through for more images...

Eleven other crew are being tried on lesser violations of maritime law.

The findings of a five-month investigation by state prosecutors concluded that a deadly combination of cargo overloading, illegal redesign and poor helmsmanship had caused the disaster.

Under questioning by prosecutors in court, Lee said he knew that crew member Cho Jun-Ki, who was steering the ship after working on the Sewol for only six months, did not have the required skill and experience.

When asked if he should have taken the helm as the ship entered a channel notorious for its strong underwater currents, Lee replied: "Yes, I guess so."

Overloaded and top-heavy following an illegal refit, the ship made a sharp turn in the channel, causing it to list sharply to one side.

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Gallery: Images: Recovery & Grief

Divers with the South Korean Navy search for missing passengers at the site of the sunken ferry off the coast of Jindo Island.
Rescuers have struggled to gain access to the ferry because of strong currents, at times ripping off divers' facemasks.
Relatives sit on a wall as they wait for news about missing loved ones in Jindo harbour.
Hundreds of people are involved in the search operation, but poor visibility has hampered attempts to get into the vessel.
A relative sits with others inside a gymnasium used as a gathering point for family members of missing passengers aboard the sunken South Korean ferry Sewol.
Members of South Korean rescue team carry the body of a passenger retrieved from the capsized ferry.
South Korea has spent heavily on salvage and rescue equipment.
Relatives of missing passengers from the sunken ferry scuffle with police as they try to go to the presidential house for more information.
Relatives of missing passengers from the sunken ferry grieve as more bodies are recovered from the water.
The bodies of victims recovered from the Sewol are carried to waiting ambulances at Jindo harbour.
Rescue workers carry the body of another victim of the sunken ferry off the coast of Jindo Island after divers broke windows to get access to the ship.
Firemen salute the bodies of victims recovered from the Sewol after being carried to waiting ambulances.
An ambulance transporting the bodies of victims recovered from the Sewol drives past policemen at a harbour in Jindo.

This caused the cargo to shift and the ferry was unable to right itself, eventually capsizing and sinking.

Asked where he was when the Sewol ran into trouble, Lee said he was in his cabin "smoking and changing clothes".

He denied allegations by some crew members that he had been playing games on his mobile phone.

"No, I wasn't playing a game. I wouldn't know how to. I was just holding the smartphone," he said.

Lee claims the ferry's owners are to blame as it was their decision to habitually overload the ferry.

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