The captain of the Sewol－ho ferry will serve his life in prison after an appeals court upheld a murder charge against him.
The Gwangju High Court overturned a trial court′s lesser conviction for negligence against Lee Joon－seok， who was sentenced to 36 years in prison last year.
Lee and 14 other crew members escaped the listing ferry， leaving more than 300 passengers on board last April.
The court reduced sentences for the rest of the crew， from five to 30 years...to between 18 months and 12 years.
The asked for leniency on their original sentences of abandoning ship and violating ship safety protocol，...saying they were not properly trained to evacuate passengers.
