Updated:2024-10-18 11:09 Views:58
SEOUL: A South Korean court ruled on Thursday (Oct 17) that Seoul's former police chief was not guilty of negligence in the response to a Halloween crowd crush in the capital's Itaewon nightlife district that killed 159 revellers in 2022.
The Seoul Western District Court said it acquitted Kim Kwang-ho, the highest-ranking police official indicted for the incident, in contrast to the three-year jail term it handed the former police chief of the affected district in September.
That lower-ranking official, heading the city district where Itaewon is located, was faulted for a lack of preparation that the court said created the conditions for the crush nearly two years ago.
In the case of Kim, former head of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, however, the court found "insufficient proof" that he violated his specific and direct duty of care in the run-up and preliminary response to the incident.
Two other police officers were acquitted alongside him on the same charges.
As the verdict was read out, shouts of protest erupted from the families of the victims in the courtroom asking: "How was it not a man-made disaster?" Yonhap reported.
The court acknowledged that the number of casualties could have been reduced had "even a small police force in charge of maintaining order in Itaewon" been dispatched on the night of the Halloween weekend.
"We cannot help but express not only disappointment but also deep regret, as it appears that the government's functions regarding social disasters did not work properly on the night of the crush," the verdict said.
An association of activist groups that is demanding accountability for the incident urged the prosecution to appeal the ruling, saying it fell short of the expectations of bereaved families who wanted a tougher outcome.
Reuters could not immediately reach prosecution officials to seek comment.
Tens of thousands of people - mostly in their 20s and 30s - had been out on Oct 29, 2022, to enjoy the first post-pandemic Halloween celebrations in Seoul's popular Itaewon nightlife district.
But the night turned deadly when people poured into a narrow, sloping alleyway between bars and clubs, the weight of their bodies and a lack of effective crowd control leading to scores being crushed to death.
The prosecution had sought a five-year term for the ex-Seoul police chieflodibet, who denied any wrongdoing, telling the court in April: "Instead of seeking a scapegoat, real preventive measures should be carried out."
Related:
South Korea's Yoon blocks new probe of 2022 Halloween crowd crush 
A year after South Korea’s Halloween crowd crush, victims’ families still seek justice: 'Law won’t bring our children back'
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