Two South Korean police officers reportedly accused of negligence of duty during the 2022 Itaewon Tragedy

The chief of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency involved in the Itaewon Tragedy has been charged by prosecutors in South Korea with negligence of duty. Their carelessness led to the 2022 Halloween crowd crush in Seoul, which resulted in the deaths of roughly 160 people, according to the report by The Korea Times.

One of the highest-ranking government officials charged with a crime in connection with the incident—which was one of the biggest peacetime tragedies in South Korean history—is Kim Kwang-ho, the police chief who was accused on Friday, January 19, 2024. Similar accusations were already being made against the leader of Seoul's Yongsan District, the location of the tragic incident. The charge came a year and three months after the catastrophic event claimed the lives of 160.

It was discovered that neither preventative nor suitable action was taken in response to emergency assistance requests. Additionally, investigators said inaccurate situational evaluations resulted in a lack of cooperation between organizations and an extended delay in information transmission.

---

Police chief accused of ignoring 11 emergency calls made on the night of Itaewon Tragedy

The National Police Agency spearheaded a government probe last year that left victims' families and survivors feeling betrayed and furious. The central government responded with derision and mockery, claiming that since the Halloween celebrations in Itaewon had not been officially organized, it was not responsible for the safety of the people there that evening.

A few of middle-ranking police officers and other officials were the only ones charged with criminal negligence and related offenses last year; high government officials, including the home minister, were found not guilty. One of the policemen (name kept confidential) is charged with fabricating a police record entry by stating that they were there at the scene on the day the Itaewon Tragedy took place.

However, as of January 19, 2024, the matter took a new direction when the prosecution charged Police Chief Kim Kwang-ho for ignoring emergency calls during the Itaewon Tragedy in October 2022. Eleven emergency calls were made the night of the incident, and the cops monitoring the area were accused of not responding to them appropriately.

They are being prosecuted by the Seoul Western District Prosecutors Office for professional ignorance that caused death. These allegations bring up grave questions regarding the management of the incident and the efficiency of the police response.

Kim Kwang-ho is charged with neglecting to ensure that on October 29, 2022, there were adequate cops in Itaewon, downtown Seoul. Regarding the crush of the crowd, Kim is the highest senior police official facing charges. Following Kim's indictment, the police are anticipated to take action, potentially including terminating Kim from the position he is in now. In addition, if convicted, he would face at least five years of imprisonment and a penalty of $15,000 or 20 million KRW.

Meanwhile, according to Yonhap News, Choi Seong-beom, the former head of the Yongsan Fire Station, was cleared of any professional incompetence charges related to the crowd crush by the prosecution.

In Seoul's Itaewon nightlife area, tens of thousands of people, primarily in their 20s and 30s, gathered to celebrate the post-pandemic holiday on October 29, 2022. That night, the area had attracted almost 100,000 individuals. However, the evening became lethal as a crowd crush occurred as people crammed into a small, sloping lane between pubs and clubs.

Yonhap News reported that Kim Kwang-ho and 22 other police personnel, district office officials, and rescue members were sent to prosecutors in January 2023 by a special police investigative team due to their purported involvement in the government's mismanagement of the crush.

While some of the victims' families supported the prosecution's charges, others argued it ought to have been brought sooner and demanded that the police chief resign right now so he could go on trial. The Itaewon Tragedy occurred on October 29, 2022, when Kim Kwang-ho, the chief of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, was at home and not on duty.

---

Bereaved families of the Itaewon Tragedy victims carried out a silent march & shaved their heads in protest

On Wednesday, January 17, relatives of those killed in the 2022 Itaewon Tragedy marched silently through the heart of Seoul, demanding that the Itaewon Disaster Special Act be passed as soon as possible. Yonhap News reported that after 160 individuals lost their lives in the October 29, 2022, crowd crush, there was widespread public indignation over the inadequate reaction and suspicions about who was behind the tragedy.

Asserting that the National Police Agency's investigation into the disaster was incomplete and did not fully expose official errors of judgment, the National Assembly's legislators, who are primarily from anti-President (Yoon Suk-yeol) parties, passed a bill designating a special prosecutor to launch an independent inquiry into the catastrophe.

The liberal Democratic Party (DP)-controlled National Assembly last week approved a measure on Tuesday, January 16, 2024, that would establish a special committee to look into the circumstances behind the fatal Itaewon Tragedy. The conservative People Power Party (PPP) abstained from the voting.

---

The South Korean government awaits President Yoon Suk-yeol's decision regarding the Itaewon Tragedy Bill since he hasn't announced his final decision yet.