The long road from a dark alley: 2 years on, the Itaewon crush remains unresolved

Despite two years passing, there is still no satisfactory resolution to the cause and responsibility of the Itaewon crowd crush.

Members from the committee representing families of the Itaewon crowd crush victims visit a memorial installed in front of Itaewon Station in Yongsan District, central Seoul on Oct. 21. [NEWS1]

Two years have passed since the deadly Itaewon crowd crush, yet not enough has been done to hold people of authority responsible for the tragedy and rectify the insufficient safety measures.

Unresolved legal disputes have prolonged the anguish of bereaved families and survivors, as recent trials yielded mixed verdicts for officials facing responsibility for the deadly crowd crush.

On Sept. 30, the Seoul Western District Court acquitted Park Hee-young, the head of the Yongsan District Office, and three of her colleagues, but found Lee Im-jae, former head of the Yongsan Police Precinct, guilty of occupational negligence.

After the ruling, relatives and families of the victims burst into tears and criticized the court's decision as "unacceptable." They said "stern punishments are essential to building a safe society, and leaving them unpunished would make the accident occur again."

Yet, justice is falling short and the country still lacks a legal manual for managing crowd disasters.

Mixed verdicts

In its verdict, the Seoul Western District Court ruled that the police bear direct responsibility for public safety, while local administrative offices do not.

This marked the first time the judiciary recognized police officers’ professional responsibility to command on-site safety responses.

The court noted that Park and her office were not legally obligated to devise a separate safety plan for events without specific organizers.

The court attributed the accident primarily to a “large influx of people,” stating that Park’s actions did not significantly affect the outcome.

Bereaved families of the Itaewon crowd crush shed tears in front of the Seoul Western District Court in Mapo District, western Seoul on Sept. 30, after the court acquitted district head Park Hee-young, who was indicted on occupational negligence charges. [YONHAP]

Attorney Choi Jong-yeon from the Work and Human Law Office observed that the verdict narrowed the likelihood of imposing civil liability on the district office, given the dismissal of criminal charges.

Choi suggested that the court’s interpretation should expand from focusing solely on crowd size to evaluating the “likelihood of an accident, regardless of pedestrian numbers.”

Ex-Yongsan Police Chief Lee was sentenced to three years in prison without labor, as the court cited his “complacent” attitude despite his obligation to devise a districtwide safety plan. Two other precinct officers received prison sentences of up to two years.

“The crowd crush was a man-made disaster that could have been prevented if the police had fulfilled their duty to protect public safety as mandated by law,” the court stated, explaining that the high density of people in Itaewon’s narrow alley on the Halloween weekend in 2022 was both predictable and preventable based on available intelligence.

However, former Seoul Police Chief Kim Kwang-ho, the highest-ranking officer among those indicted, was acquitted of occupational negligence charges on Oct. 17. The court determined that Kim did not breach his duty to issue a crowd crush warning.

In February, an intelligence officer from the Seoul police agency and two from the Yongsan Police Precinct were convicted of tampering with electronic records related to the accident.

In July of last year, the Supreme Court unanimously overturned the National Assembly’s impeachment of Interior Minister Lee Sang-min, who had been accused of failing to fulfill his duty to prevent and address the Itaewon crowd crush. The top court judged that Lee’s action of not designating a safety controlling agency in advance did not equate to a violation of the disaster and safety act.

Outrage and appeals

Bereaved families of the Itaewon crowd crush hold pickets that say ″the accident could have been prevented″ during their press conference held in central Seoul last month. [YONHAP]

Acquittals and light penalties have outraged the bereaved families. After Park Hee-young and three district officials were acquitted, victims' families protested outside the court, saying they “cannot accept the ruling.”

At a press conference, Lee Jeong-min, representing the association of bereaved families of the Itaewon tragedy, called the verdict “devastating.”

“We have been appealing for accountability and competence for two years, but today’s ruling is deeply disheartening,” Lee said.

On Oct. 17, following Kim Kwang-ho’s acquittal, some families protested in the courthouse, accusing the court of “exempting” the Seoul police agency from accountability, and blocked Kim’s car from leaving the premises.

The Seoul Western District Prosecutors’ Office has since appealed the rulings for district officials, police officers and those associated with the Hamilton Hotel.

Following the incident, a temporary wall affixed to the hotel in the narrow alley was blamed for contributing to the high casualty rate by creating a constriction.

Although the hotel owner and two tenants were found guilty last November of extending the property's structure, they were only fined between 1 million and 8 million won ($725 to $5,800).

They were acquitted of charges related to the temporary wall, as the court noted they may not have known it intruded upon the border of the construction area.

Relatives of victims who perished in the Itaewon crowd crush of Oct. 29, 2022, begin to cry in the National Assembly in Yeouido, western Seoul, after the legislature passed a bill mandating a new investigation into the disaster on May 2. [NEWS1]

In May, the National Assembly passed a bill authorizing a new investigation into the Itaewon crowd crush, nearly a year and seven months after the incident.

The bill — vetoed by President Yoon Suk Yeol in January — was passed after rival parties agreed on an amended version.

A representative of the victims’ families expressed relief at the bill’s passage, calling it “the first step toward uncovering the truth behind a man-made disaster that claimed 159 lives.”

The families added that they hope “all government agencies will fully cooperate” with the investigation.

Timeline of rulings on the Itaewon crowd crush [SEOUL WESTERN DISTRICT PROSECUTORS’ OFFICE/SEOUL WESTERN DISTRICT COURT]

A special investigative committee held its first meeting on Sept. 23 following the bill's passage.

The committee, composed of one chairperson and eight members, will investigate the tragedy for a year, with a potential three-month extension.

Jeonbuk National University law professor Song Ki-choon, chosen to lead the special investigation committee, pledged to thoroughly examine the incident, promising to “lay the foundation for a safer society.”

“The committee aims to address every possible question, such as why the tragedy on Oct. 29 two years ago occurred; why measures were taken that victims and families found difficult to understand; why sufficient preparations were lacking; who made mistakes; who bears responsibility and what steps are needed to prevent another similar tragedy,” Song said during a memorial event held on Saturday at Seoul Plaza in Jung District, central Seoul.

The missing manual

Police patrol Hongdae, Mapo District, western Seoul on Saturday to prevent crowd-related accidents ahead of Halloween. [YONHAP]

A government report released last April deemed the crush to be the result of a “lack of adequate control” and communication. The report stated that events with “large, dense crowds without an organizer” were left as blind spots in pre-emptive safety management.

The Ministry of the Interior and Safety said Friday it is working to finalize a legal manual for overcrowding, following the amendment of the related enforcement decree announced in July of this year.

The manual is set for completion in July of next year, with contributions required from related ministries, local governments and public institutions.

Each entity is tasked with drafting sections specific to its responsibilities: Ministries are to provide guidelines for managing overcrowding risks, while local governments are to outline on-site response protocols.

The ministry noted that a preliminary safety management guideline for crowd disasters had already been distributed in September, ahead of the manual’s completion.

While the development of the manual is ongoing, authorities have implemented various safety measures, including AI-enhanced surveillance cameras to protect people from crowd disasters.

Since the tragedy, the Seoul Metropolitan Government has been upgrading conventional CCTVs to smart cameras. Last October, Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon participated in a crowd control drill at Konkuk University Street in Gwangjin District to test the new CCTV system.

The government has designated Oct. 25 to Nov. 3 a Halloween-focused safety management period.

During this time, authorities conduct patrols and monitor activities in collaboration with the ministry, local districts and the police and fire departments.

Police stationed in Itaewon order people to move along the once-popular alleyway on Oct. 27, 2023. [CHOI KI-WOONG]

Ahead of the Halloween weekend this year, the Seoul city government announced special safety measures in 15 high-priority areas, including Itaewon and Hongdae, where large crowds are expected for Halloween.

Digital boards are installed in tourist areas like Hongdae’s Red Road to provide real-time crowd information.

Around 380 safety personnel are stationed at key locations, and the AI-based crowd density analysis system are expanded for improved monitoring. The digital boards alert citizens to crowd density levels and issue warnings to avoid certain areas during crises.

However, experts caution that relying solely on technology may be risky. “While [smart CCTV] is impressive, relying solely on technology could be dangerous,” said sociology Prof. Yee Jae-yeol of Seoul National University.

“What’s crucial is our ability to communicate effectively.”

Safety fences installed in Itaewon on Oct. 27, 2023. The fences are set up to prevent overcrowding. [CHOI KI-WOONG]

While IT solutions are playing a significant role in this year’s Halloween crowd management, the government is also reinforcing traditional crowd control methods by deploying 4,200 safety personnel to help manage crowds in Itaewon.

Additional measures, such as station-skipping for the subway, emergency speakers and disaster text alerts, are activated based on congestion levels at the Streets of Flavor in the Konkuk University area. The vicinity is also undergoing 24-hour crowd density monitoring.

Prof. Yee explained that the Itaewon tragedy highlighted communication failures between police, emergency responders and local officials in Yongsan. He emphasized that instead of a “top-down” approach where people on the ground wait for orders from above, the people who know things best at the ground level of bureaucracy need a more significant say.

“In the United States, 911 operators can oversee all involved personnel, from the National Guard to police to volunteers, ensuring the person most familiar with the area can lead the response,” Yee said.

“In our case, the chain of command often goes too high up before coming back down. Establishing a clear, field-centered command structure is essential."

"In our society, there are countless living witnesses to tears and suffering," Lee Jeong-min said at the memorial event.

"These are people who have lost family members and must carry the burden of lifelong pain from social disasters — the Sewol ferry sinking, the Itaewon crush and countless others," he added. "Such tragedies should not be repeated in this country."

BY LEE SOO-JUNG,KIM MIN-YOUNG,CHO JUNG-WOO [lee.soojung1@joongang.co.kr, cho.jungwoo1@joongang.co.kr]