SEOUL: A South Korean appellate court has handed down a sentence of life in prison to the captain of a ferry that sank last year, killing more than 300 people.

Today’s sentencing is harsher than a November verdict by a district court that sentenced Lee Joon-seok to 36 years in prison for negligence and abandoning passengers in need.

A spokesman at the Gwangju High Court says that in addition to giving Lee life, 14 other navigation crew members were sentenced from 18 months to 12 years in prison.

He says Lee’s sentence was increased because the court convicted him on homicide charges. In the November ruling, Lee was acquitted of homicide.

Most of the victims are teenagers traveling to a southern island for a school trip.–AP/nst