"If the defendants ordered an evacuation and launched the rescue rafts, doing other rescue duties properly, more passengers could have been saved," the indictment said. "Nevertheless, the defendants abandoned the ferry Sewol without taking any measures for rescue."
The captain and three other crew members are charged with homicide - a charge that could carry the death penalty, though South Korea has not executed anyone in the 21st century. Prosecutors accuse them of tacitly colluding to abandon the ship while being aware that the passengers would be trapped and killed when the ship sank.
At the same time, prosecutors accuse their employer of providing the crew too little training. They allege that Chonghaejin Marine did not abide by the rules that required regular training of Sewol sailors for safety and maritime accidents, a claim bolstered by a former Sewol crew member. There are various requirements, but the captain must conduct emergency training for crew every 10 days.
According to Chonghaejin's budget, it spent just 541,000 won ($528) on crew training last year.
Sailor Choi Kwang-rak said he received three emergency training sessions during the three months he worked on the Sewol ferry last year. He was then transferred to another Chonghaejin ferry, Ohamana, and found out that emergency training was more frequent there.
Ko Hong-keun, chief officer of the Ohamana, said that ferry's crew gathered for two hours of training every Sunday morning before lunch and headed home. Ko declined to talk about the Sewol's evacuation drills.
Two sailors who were at the helm at the time of sinking, 25-year-old Park Han-gyeol and 55-year-old Cho Joon-ki, could face a life sentence if convicted. If nine other crew members are convicted of abandoning people that resulted in death, they could get 30 years in jail. If they are found guilty of two additional charges as well, their sentences could exceed 40 years.
Many of the indicted crew members have had difficulty finding lawyers. Only one has a private attorney. The other 14, including the captain, are sharing the only six public defenders in Gwangju city.
Attorney Yoon Young-sun and a private law firm agreed to defend the captain and the third mate, but they both quickly resigned. An email to Yoon was not returned.
Two major civic groups of lawyers cannot represent the crew members because of a potential conflict of interest: They are already helping the victims of the disaster and their families.
Most of the crew's attorneys have little experience. Three of them passed a bar exam in 2012 and began working as attorneys this year after working as judicial researchers. None of the six attorneys responded to requests for comment.
Gwangju court said the defendants can request to fire the attorneys during the trial if they feel they are not well represented.
Kang said none of the crew asked him to represent them, though he would be willing to do so. But even the lawyer who called their case a witch trial seemed to have an expectation of the outcome.
He said he would take the case "under the condition that they will take responsibility for what they did wrong."
