Prosecutors in South Korea have indicted the top of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Company, charging him with contributing by means of negligence to the Halloween crowd crush in Seoul in 2022 that killed practically 160 individuals, officers stated.
The police chief charged on Friday, Kim Kwang-ho, is likely one of the most senior authorities officers to face felony costs stemming from the episode, one of many worst peacetime disasters in South Korea’s historical past. The top of Yongsan District, the world of Seoul the place the lethal occasion occurred, was already dealing with related costs.
On Oct. 29, 2022, 1000’s of younger individuals packed into Itaewon, a well-liked nightlife neighborhood in central Seoul, to benefit from the first restriction-free Halloween weekend because the pandemic. Tons of squeezed right into a slender and sloping alleyway from each ends, making a suffocating squeeze within the center.
Few cops had been readily available to regulate the gang, though the authorities had been warned in advance of the chance of an unusually giant gathering and the potential for issues. As the gang crush was taking place, caller after panicked caller from the scene rang police and fire-department hotlines to explain crowds, chaos and hazard. However assist was sluggish to reach.
A government investigation last year, led by the Nationwide Police Company, left survivors and kin of victims unsatisfied and angry. The central authorities stated that it didn’t have accountability for public security in Itaewon that night time as a result of the Halloween festivities had not been formally organized, a response that drew scorn and mock from many South Koreans. Solely a handful of principally middle-ranking police and different officers had been indicted on felony negligence and related costs final 12 months, whereas prime authorities officers, like the house minister, had been cleared of wrongdoing.
Early final 12 months, when the police company concluded its investigation, it requested prosecutors to indict Mr. Kim on costs linked to failure to take precautionary measures, resembling assigning crowd management officers, and to bungling the emergency response. However the prosecutors didn’t act till Friday. Two different cops had been additionally indicted on Friday, bringing the overall variety of individuals to face trial in reference to the Itaewon catastrophe to 21.
If Mr. Kim is convicted, he might withstand 5 years in jail or a tremendous of as much as $15,000. Authorities officers indicted on felony costs are additionally suspended from their jobs pending the result of their trial.
Victims’ households welcomed what they referred to as Mr. Kim’s “belated” indictment. They’ve lengthy accused the federal government of President Yoon Suk Yeol of refusing to come back clear on its shortcomings and hearth prime security officers over the Itaewon catastrophe.
“President Yoon should dismiss the Seoul police chief instantly,” they stated in a press release. “The indictment of the extra individuals should be a primary step towards a correct punishment of these chargeable for the Itaewon catastrophe.”
This month, legislators within the Nationwide Meeting, which is dominated by events in opposition to President Yoon’s, handed a invoice that might appoint a particular prosecutor to start an impartial investigation into the catastrophe, saying that the one by the Nationwide Police Company didn’t unveil the entire reality about official negligence.
Mr. Yoon’s social gathering has requested him to veto the invoice, calling it politically motivated. He has not stated if he’ll.