Former Seoul police chief Kim Kwang-ho acquitted in Itaewon crowd crush case
Published: 17 Oct. 2024, 12:26
Updated: 17 Oct. 2024, 12:29
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- LEE SOO-JUNG
- lee.soojung1@joongang.co.kr
![Bereaved families of the Itaewon crowd crush demand strict punishment against Kim Kwang-ho, former chief of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, in front of the Seoul Western District Court in western Seoul on Thursday. [NEWS1]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2024/10/17/bc653136-5713-4006-a3f6-097d1c9ad9a2.jpg)
Bereaved families of the Itaewon crowd crush demand strict punishment against Kim Kwang-ho, former chief of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, in front of the Seoul Western District Court in western Seoul on Thursday. [NEWS1]
Two other emergency monitoring police officers from the agency were also acquitted by the local court on the same day.
Earlier this year, the three officers from the Seoul police agency were indicted on charges of occupational negligence resulting in the deaths of 159 people.
When considering evidence submitted by the prosecution, the judge said it was "insufficient in proving that Kim violated his duty to directly and specifically warn” about the potential hazards of the crowd crush.
Prosecutors argued that Kim did not command specific measures or take action to prevent the incident despite being briefed on the necessity of crowd management before the crowd crush occurred on the night of Oct. 29, 2022.
BY LEE SOO-JUNG [lee.soojung1@joongang.co.kr]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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