Former police chief involved in South Korea’s Itaewon stampede was acquitted at first trial
On October 17th, a ruling from the Seoul Western District Court declared former head of the Seoul Police Agency, Kim Kwang-ho, not guilty of negligence related to the Itaewon crowd crush incident. This decision came during a local hearing in Seoul.
According to reports from Yonhap News Agency, the court acknowledged that the police response fell short of public expectations. However, it found insufficient evidence from the prosecution to establish a direct causal link between Kim’s actions and either the occurrence of the crowd crush or its escalation.
The court stated that based on reports and messages from relevant departments within the Seoul Police Agency and the Yongsan Police Station concerning measures for Halloween safety, it was difficult to conclude that Kim could have predicted the large crowds that would gather that day, potentially leading to the disaster. The judge noted that Kim had directed relevant personnel to check crowd management and devise safety measures before the event, and had also ordered an emergency dispatch of police to the site after the incident occurred. Therefore, it was hard to attribute any failure in management directly to Kim.
On the same day, two other former Seoul Police Agency officers who were also indicted alongside Kim were acquitted. Following the verdict, some family members of the victims gathered outside the courthouse, urging the prosecution to appeal the decision.
The tragic crowd crush incident happened on the night of October 29, 2022, in the Itaewon area of Yongsan District, resulting in the deaths of 159 individuals. Kim Kwang-ho, identified as the top police official responsible during the incident, faced accusations of negligence and was alleged to have been aware of the risks beforehand but failed to take appropriate precautions. Prosecutors had sought a five-year prison sentence for him.
