The court concluded the first trial by sentencing the captain and crewmen of the ferry Sewol to prison terms and this touched off bitterer sorrow and anger among the bereaved families, the editorial noted, adding:

The shameless behavior of the captain and crewmen who ran away after shouting to the passengers "Stay put" deserves severe punishment.

What enraged the bereaved families and people was the behavior of maritime police at the crucial time when they could rescue all passengers and the authorities' failure to take rescue measures.

The chief executive attributed the ferry sinking to the greed and escape of the captain and crewmen and the prosecution investigated and indicted them within that framework. Accordingly, the court's ruling was far from the truth.