Sewol-ho victims to get compensation from gov't, ferry operator: Court

Let's turn the spotlight to the people still struggling with the pain of losing their loved ones in one of South Korea's worst ever maritime disasters.A local court on Thursday ordered the government and the operator of the Sewol-ho ferry... to pay them tens of millions of dollars in compensation.Kim Mok-yeon reports. On Thursday, the Seoul Central District Court held the state and the ferry operator, Cheonghaejin Marine, responsible for the tragedy in which the Sewol-ho ferry capsized, in 2014, killing more than 300 passengers. The court ordered them to pay compensation worth some 177-thousand U.S. dollars to the beneficiaries of the deceased, and 35-thousand dollars to their parents.Siblings and grandparents who participated in the suit will also be compensated in amounts based on their kinship with the victim. The suit was filed nearly three years ago by some 350 relatives of 118 of the victims,... who claimed that the state and the ferry operator were responsible for neglecting safety management and for not launching a swift rescue.The court's ruling means a lot to the bereaved families, who've been waiting for a legal acknowledgement of the state's responsibility.They had even refused the government's initial compensation offer of more than 370-thousand dollars. Speaking to reporters after the verdict, the families said that they refused to accept the initial offer because they wanted to file the suit and hold the state responsible through a written judgement. They said they are still not satisfied and hinted of an appeal... in which they would expect the court to explicitly spell out the state and the company's wrongdoings.Kim Mok-yeon, Arirang News.