A general has been sentenced to one year in prison for ordering the illegal surveillance of families affected by the sinking of the ferry Sewol.

A general military court under on Tuesday issued the verdict for Major General So Gang-won, who served as the chief of staff of the now-defunct Defense Security Command (DSC), an army unit charged with counterintelligence and internal security.

The court recognized the charges that So, while serving as the commander of the DSC unit charged with Gwangju and South Jeolla Province, instructed his subordinates to monitor and collect information about the bereaved families of victims of the 2014 ferry disaster in grave violation of people's privacy and basic rights.

Another DSC officer, surnamed Kim, was sentenced to one year in jail with a stay of execution for two years on similar charges while serving as the commander of the DSC unit charged with the Ansan, Gyeonggi Province area. 

So and Kim were arrested and indicted in September last year on charges of carrying out illegal surveillance of the families of the Sewol victims.