Ex-Seoul police chief acquitted of negligence in Itaewon crowd crush

Former chief of Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency Kim Kwang-ho leaves Seoul Western District Court on Thursday after being acquitted of his charges over the deadly 2022 crowd crush at Itaewon in Yongsan-gu, central Seoul. (Yonhap)

A Seoul district court on Thursday ruled that Kim Kwang-ho, the former chief of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, was not guilty of negligence before and during the deadly Halloween crowd crush on Oct. 29, 2022, in Itaewon, central Seoul.

According to the Seoul Western District Court, the prosecution had not provided enough evidence that Kim had directly violated his duty of care as the police chief of the Seoul police agency, either on the day of the crowd crush or in the days leading up to it.

Kim is the highest-ranking police official to have been indicted in connection with the tragedy.

The rulings come two weeks before the second anniversary of the tragedy, which was South Korea’s deadliest crowd crush, having left 159 people who were celebrating Halloween dead in Itaewon in Yongsan-gu, central Seoul. Prosecutors had requested a five-year sentence for Kim in mid-January this year. He was suspected of neglecting professional duties such as sending police officers to prepare for possible safety risks that could occur due to large crowds on the night of the disaster.

Two other emergency monitoring police officers from the agency -- including Ryu Mi-jin, who was on call at the time of the tragedy, and Jeong Dae-kyung, a former head of its emergency situation team -- were also acquitted by the district court on the same day.

While the district court acknowledged the police response toward the incident fell short of the general public’s expectations, it concluded that the evidence presented by the prosecution does not strictly prove Kim and the two other police officers’ professional negligence caused or contributed to the incident.

Specifically for Kim, the district court ruled that it was unlikely he would have understood there was a risk of a severe accident and a need for preventive measures to take place, based on reports and text messages submitted to the court by relevant departments in the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency and Yongsan Police Station.

“When considering the evidence submitted (to the court) by the prosecution, it is insufficient in proving that Kim violated his duty to directly and specifically warn about the potential hazards of the crowd crush,” the court said Thursday.

The court added that upon learning of the crowd crush from the Yongsan police chief, Kim immediately ordered his agency to dispatch all available units, concluding that the incident cannot be said to have been further escalated due to his professional negligence after the tragedy.

Bereaved family members of the victims of the 2022 crowd crush in Itaewon break down in tears following the court ruling at Seoul Western District Court on Thursday. (Yonhap)

Following Thursday’s court rulings, bereaved family members of the victims held a press conference in front of the Seoul Western District Court, urging prosecutors to appeal the ruling.

“Today, I felt like I was watching a comedy sketch instead of a hearing that would show the judiciary serving justice,” Lee Jung-min, vice chair of the Association of Families of Itaewon Disaster Victims, told the press following Thursday’s court rulings. “What does it mean when they say there is a problem, but no one is at fault?”

Lee added, “We will continue to fight to the death to hold all those responsible, including Kim Kwang-ho, to bring justice.”

In a commentary issued shortly after the sentencing of Kim and two other police officials, the Association of Families of Itaewon Disaster Victims called the sentence “unacceptable and deceptive,” saying it was a “judicial decision that violates the role of the judiciary.”

By Lee Jung-joo(lee.jungjoo@heraldcorp.com)