Seoul: A Seoul court on Thursday acquitted the former head of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency (SMPA), Kim Kwang-ho, of charges related to the 2022 Itaewon crowd crush that resulted in 159 fatalities, stating insufficient evidence to link his actions to the incident.
According to Yonhap News Agency, Kim Kwang-ho, 60, faced charges of professional negligence following the disaster on Halloween weekend in Seoul’s Itaewon nightlife district on October 29, 2022. Prosecutors had sought a five-year prison term for Kim, accusing him of not implementing adequate safety measures or deploying sufficient police presence despite clear risks of overcrowding which they claimed exacerbated the severity of the incident.
The Seoul Western District Court ruled that the evidence provided by the prosecution failed to conclusively demonstrate that Kim’s alleged negligence directly contributed to the tragedy or worsened the situation. The court noted that the reports and text messages Kim received from lower-ranking officers
did not sufficiently indicate an impending risk of a large-scale overcrowding disaster or the urgent need for preventative actions.
Following his acquittal, Kim, who had resigned from his position in June after being suspended, remains free of legal responsibility for the incident. The verdict has been met with criticism from the families of the victims, who have expressed their disappointment and urged prosecutors to appeal the decision, labeling the court’s ruling as misleading and neglectful of judicial responsibilities.