Family members of the victims who died in last year's deadly Itaewon crowd crush gathered at Yongsan District Office on Thursday morning to protest the district office chief’s first day back to work.
A court on Wednesday granted bail for Park Hee-young, the chief of the Yongsan District Office, five months after she was indicted and detained on charges of professional negligence resulting in last year's Itaewon crowd crush.
Police recommended the chief of the Yongsan District Office be prosecuted for professional negligence resulting in the Itaewon crowd crush.
The South Korean military apologized for failing to shoot down any of the five North Korean drones that flew on Monday for hours over Incheon, Gyeonggi and parts of Seoul.
The head of the Yongsan District Office Park Hee-young was arrested Monday on charges of not responding appropriately to the Itaewon crowd crush that took the lives of 158 people on Oct. 29.
Park Hee-young, head of the Yongsan District Office, is questioned by reporters at the Seoul Western District Court on Monday where a hearing on her arrest warrant was held. Park is accused of being absent on the day that the Itaewon crush.
Park Hee-young, head of the Yongsan District Office, was banned Friday from leaving the country by the Ministry of Justice which immediately granted a ban requested by the Special Investigation Headquarters of the National Police Agency.
It later emerged that at least 11 calls were made to the police before the tragedy reporting fears about overcrowding. The transcripts released by the National Police Agency on Tuesday show the urgent situation at the scene.
Police and government authorities are focusing on understanding the circumstances that led to the horrific Halloween crowd crush in Itaewon Saturday that killed at least 154 people, including a middle school student.
Diplomatic missions in Korea struggled to make contact with their nationals caught up in the deadly crowd crush that occurred late Saturday night during Halloween festivities in Itaewon as the Interior Ministry confirmed 20 foreigners were killed.
Korea JoongAng Daily Sitemap