Court fines Itaewon hotel CEO 8 million won for illegally building structures near crowd crush site

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Court fines Itaewon hotel CEO 8 million won for illegally building structures near crowd crush site

Published: 29 Nov. 2023, 11:26

LEE SOO-JUNG
[email protected]

CEO of Hamilton Hotel, who is convicted of building structures illegally around the site of the Itaewon crowd crush, leaves the Seoul Western District Court in Mapo District, western Seoul, after he was handed a 8 million won ($6,200) on Wednesday. [NEWS1]

A Seoul court on Wednesday fined Hamilton Hotel CEO, identified by his last name Lee, 8 million won ($6,200) for illegally building structures for the alleyway around the hotel where the Itaewon crowd crush happened last year.

The decision is the first court ruling on cases involving the crowd crush.

The unauthorized construction of structures around the hotel has been blamed for making the crowd crush worse by narrowing the alleyway where the accident happened.

The CEO was indicted without detention in January for violating the Building Act and the Road Act by illegally constructing structures around its hotel.

Prosecutors sought a one-year imprisonment for the CEO in September.

BY LEE SOO-JUNG [[email protected]]