A district court on Thursday sentenced the head of the sunken ferry Sewol operator to 10 years in prison for involuntary manslaughter in the deaths of more than 300 people.
Kim Han-sik, chief executive officer of Chonghaejin Marine Co., was also found guilty of violating the law on safe maritime navigation in connection with the April 16 tragedy.
The Gwangju District Court in this southern city imposed a 2 million won (US$1,900) fine on the 71-year-old chief as well.
Kim was also convicted of embezzling company funds worth tens of billions of won and taking kickbacks worth tens of millions of won from subcontractors.
Prosecutors earlier had demanded a 15-year prison term for Kim.
In the same trial on Thursday, the court delivered prison sentences ranging from three to six years to other Chonghaejin Marine's executives.
Prosecutors allege that Chonghaejin, motivated by profit, routinely overloaded the ship with passengers and cargo even though its balance was substantially compromised after a remodeling.
The 6,825-ton ferry Sewol sank in waters off the southwestern island of Jindo on April 16 en route to the southern resort island of Jeju. Of the total number of people on board, only 174 were rescued while the others, mostly high school students on a school trip, perished. (Yonhap)