Seoul police chief charged in Halloween stampede that killed 158
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Kim Kwang-ho is accused of carelessness for failing to "take necessary measures" to prevent the 2022 tragedy in the capital's Itaewon nightlife zone.
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People pay respects to victims of the Itaewon crowd rush on a marquee in Seoul, South Korea, in October 2023. (AFP)
Seoul's police commander has been prosecuted with professional negligence in connection with the tragic Halloween crush in 2022, which killed about 160 people, prosecutors in the South Korean capital announced.
Kim Kwang-ho, the chief of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency (SMPA), has been charged with professional negligence resulting in harm or death, Seoul's western district prosecutors' office announced on Friday.
As the SMPA's chief, it is alleged that he "did not take necessary measures, such as deploying sufficient police forces and ensuring proper command and supervision" on the day of the crush, despite being able to "foresee potential dangers arising" from the congestion in the entertainment area.
Kim, the highest-ranking police official to face prosecution over the incident, was charged but not detained.
On October 29, 2022, tens of thousands of people, largely in their 20s and 30s, gathered in Seoul's Itaewon nightlife area to celebrate the post-pandemic festival. However, the night turned tragic as people flooded into a tiny, sloping lane between pubs and clubs, resulting in a mob crush.
A special police investigative team submitted Kim and 22 other police, rescue, and district officials to prosecutors in January of last year for their suspected role in the government's mismanagement of the crush.
Prosecutors eventually accused the directors of the police station in Seoul's Yongsan district, which encompasses Itaewon, as well as the Yongsan Ward office, although they had been debating whether to charge Kim for more than a year.
According to the statement Friday, Kim and the Yongsan police chief and Yongsan Ward office, also on trial, "collectively caused the deaths of 158 individuals and injuries to 312 individuals as a result of professional negligence."
The families of victims criticized the long time it took to make the decision and called for the chief to "immediately step down from his position and face trial."
In their statement, they called on President Yoon Suk-yeol to "immediately dismiss" him.
