A local court has ordered a company that runs camping tours to a deserted island to compensate an insurance firm for negligence over the drowning death of a student off the country's southwestern coast.

The Seoul Central District Court ruled in favor of the insurance company that filed a suit against the camping operator seeking compensation for 120 million won ($102,000) it paid to the bereaved family.

In 2012, the bodies of two students who participated in a camping tour at Shinan County, South Jeolla Province were found a few days after they were swept away by a strong current.

One of them was a student with a mental disability that was first swept away while playing at the seashore, and the other student died while attempting to save the first.

Despite the swift current, there was no sign prohibiting swimming, and no life jackets were available. Also, teachers from the school had left the island before the accident occurred, court records showed.

An instructor who was in charge of the students refused to enter the water, citing a lack of swimming ability.

The court said the tour organizer is partly liable for the accident and ordered the company to pay 62 million won to the insurance firm. 

It took into consideration that the school did not inform the operator about the mentally disabled student and that the teachers did not supervise the students. (Yonhap)