Photo : YONHAP News
Kim Kwang-ho, a former head of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, has been acquitted of negligence charges related to the 2022 crowd crush that killed 159 people and injured nearly 200 others in Seoul’s Itaewon neighborhood.
The Seoul Western District Court ruled Thursday that Kim was not guilty of causing death or injury by occupational and gross negligence.
Kim is the highest-ranking police official to have been indicted in connection with the tragedy.
The court said the prosecution had not provided enough evidence that Kim directly violated his duty of care as the Seoul police chief, either on the day of the crowd crush or in the days leading up to it.
Based on reports submitted to Kim by the Seoul police agency and the Yongsan Police Station prior to the Halloween festivities in Itaewon, the court found that he was unlikely to have understood there was a risk of a serious accident and a need for preventive measures.
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.
Also acquitted of causing death or injury by occupational and gross negligence were Ryu Mi-jin, who was in charge of the Seoul police agency’s emergency call monitoring system at the time of the tragedy, and Jeong Dae-kyung, a former head of its emergency situation team.