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Seoul police chief indicted for manslaughter in 2022 Itaewon crowd crush

Published: 19 Jan. 2024, 18:55

MICHAEL LEE
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Kim Kwang-ho, chief of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, speaks during an event held at Seoul City Hall in September. [YONHAP]

Prosecutors on Friday announced the indictment of Kim Kwang-ho, chief of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, on charges of committing manslaughter by negligence of duty during the 2022 Itaewon crowd crush.

The crowd crush of Oct. 29, 2022, which claimed the lives of 159 people, sparked public outrage and raised questions over who was responsible for the tragedy.

The announcement came as political controversy heated up between the conservative People Power Party (PPP) and liberal Democratic Party (DP) over a bill proposed by the latter to create a special commission to investigate the tragedy.

In its indictment, the Seoul Western District Prosecutors’ Office accused Kim of failing to dispatch sufficient police manpower to the Itaewon nightlife area in Yongsan District, central Seoul, despite being aware of the danger of crowds gathering in the neighborhood for Halloween celebrations on Oct. 29, 2022.

Prosecutors have also accused Kim of failing to conduct proper oversight and crowd control in Itaewon that night, thereby exacerbating casualties.

Four others at the police agency were indicted the same day by the prosecution on similar charges.

On Thursday, the PPP called on the DP to engage in talks to revise the proposed Itaewon Disaster Special Act, a bill that would establish a parliamentary commission to probe the crowd crush, while urging President Yoon Suk Yeol to veto the bill in its current form.

The PPP has characterized the current bill as having been rammed through the National Assembly by the DP without bipartisan consultation and cast doubts about its fairness, noting that the proposed composition of lawmakers on the commission is skewed 7-4 in the DP’s favor.

But the DP has criticized the PPP’s response to the bill, calling it an attempt to shield the government from scrutiny regarding its response to the crowd crush and whether it failed to prepare adequate safety measures ahead of the crowds expected in Itaewon.

The DP also accused the PPP of “turning its back on” victims of the tragedy and said a presidential veto of the bill would be tantamount to “killing the victims and their families once more.”

Family members of the victims killed in the crowd crush held a silent memorial march in central Seoul on Wednesday, calling for the swift enactment of the bill.

The DP-controlled National Assembly passed the bill last week, but the vote was boycotted by the PPP.

BY MICHAEL LEE [[email protected]]