The court said although Yoo could be said to be a de facto major stakeholder in Cheonghaejin Marine Co., which operated the ship, it is difficult to recognize that he was in a position to give managerial direction in relation to the Sewol's operations.

It also noted that there is little evidence to substantiate the plaintiff's claim that Yoo took part in his late father Yoo Byung-eun's management of Semo Group to which Cheonghaejin was affiliated.

The compensation claim was made based on special legislation enacted in the aftermath of the disaster, which stipulates the state can exercise its right to indemnity to a party that has caused the accident.

The government has claimed that Yoo had the power, as the controlling shareholder in the shipping firm, to exert influence in the business.

Yoo has denied the claim and insisted he was not involved in company management.

The government has said the total cost of salvaging the ferry and dealing with the victims' families is tentatively estimated at 438.9 billion won. Of the amount, it has spent about 187.8 billion won as of the end of August 2015, it said.

Separately, Yoo has been sentenced to two years in prison for embezzling nearly 7.4 billion won from the operator and six other affiliates. Of that total, some 3.5 billion won has been forfeited by the court. (Yonhap)