A South Korean district court ordered the state and ferry operator Chonghaejin Marine to compensate the survivors of the 2014 Sewol ferry disaster. It decided that each of the 20 survivors should be given $71,000 in compensation for psychological trauma.
Each of the 20 survivors will receive $71,000 in compensation for the psychological trauma they experienced, because of inadequate safety response from the ferry operator and the rescue authorities. Moreover, 76 family members of the 20 survivors will also receive compensation varying from 4 million won to 32 million won.
According to local media, the state is responsible as it did not conduct an accurate search and rescue operations when the accident happened. It also did not provide the survivors with proper medical, psychological and social aid.
Last July, a Seoul court has ordered the state of South Korea and the shipping firm to compensate the families of victims from the Sewol ferry sinking that killed over 300 passengers, back in 2014, finding they are responsible for their suffering.
In particular, the Seoul Central District Court awarded Thursday 200 million won (US$177,000) in compensation for each deceased passenger and 40 million won to parents of students who lost their lives in the tragedy, according to official data provided by Yonhap news agency. The court also awarded compensation of 5-20 million won for siblings and grandparents of the deceased.
A panel responsible for the investigation the 2014 Sewol ferry disaster, did not find the exact cause of the ship’s sinking after an effort that lasted a year. This was announced on August 6, leaving many issues unanswered for one of South Korea’s worst maritime tragedies.
