The street in Itaewon fills with people before the deadly crowd crushes. Photo: AP/Reuters
The South Korean police Chief, Kim Kwang-ho was charged on Friday with negligence. He is one of the most senior officials to face legal consequences for the October 2022 disaster that killed almost 160 people in Seoul.
Mr Kim, the head of the Seoul Police Agency was indicted by his prosecutors in South Korea, charging him with contributing through negligence to the Halloween crowd crush in Seoul in 2022 where almost 160 people were killed, officials said.
The head of Yongsan District, the area of Seoul where the deadly event happened, was already facing similar charges.
The reports said few police officers were positioned to control the crowd on the 29th of October, 2022 in Seoul where young people packed into Itaewon, a popular nightlife neighbourhood in central Seoul, to enjoy the first restriction-free Halloween weekend since the pandemic, though the authorities had been warned of the likelihood of an unusually large gathering and the potential for problems.
However, as the crowd crush was happening, caller after panicked caller from the scene rang police and fire department hotlines to describe crowds, chaos and danger. But help was slow to arrive.
A government investigation last year, led by the National Police Agency, left survivors and relatives of victims unsatisfied and angry.
The central government said that it did not have responsibility for public safety in Itaewon that night because the Halloween festivities had not been formally organized, a response that drew scorn and ridicule from many South Koreans. Only a handful of mostly middle-ranking police and other officials were indicted on criminal negligence and similar charges last year, while top government officials, like the home minister, were cleared of wrongdoing.
Early last year, when the police agency concluded its investigation, it asked prosecutors to indict Mr Kim on charges connected to the failure to take precautionary measures, such as assigning crowd control officers and bungling the emergency response. But the prosecutors did not act until Friday. Two other police officers were also indicted on Friday, bringing the total number of people to face trial in connection with the Itaewon disaster to 21.
If Mr. Kim is convicted, he could face up to five years in prison or a fine of up to $15,000. Government officials indicted on criminal charges are also suspended from their jobs pending the outcome of their trial.
Victims’ families welcomed what they called Mr. Kim’s “belated” indictment. They have long accused the government of President Yoon Suk Yeol of refusing to come clean on its shortcomings and firing top safety officials over the Itaewon disaster.
“President Yoon must dismiss the Seoul police chief immediately,” they said in a statement. “The indictment of the additional people must be a first step toward a proper punishment of those responsible for the Itaewon disaster.”
韓國一名警察局長因萬聖節人群踩踏事件被起訴
韓國警察局長金光浩週五被指控玩忽職守。 他是因 2022 年 10 月首爾災難造成近 160 人死亡而面臨法律後果的最高級官員之一。
官員稱，首爾警察廳長金先生被韓國檢察官起訴，指控他因疏忽而參與 2022 年首爾萬聖節人群擁擠事件，導致近 160 人死亡。
發生致命事件的首爾龍山區區長已經面臨類似指控。
報道稱，2022 年 10 月 29 日首爾，幾乎沒有警察控制人群，年輕人湧入首爾市中心熱門夜生活區梨泰院，享受自疫情以來第一個不受限制的萬聖節週末。當局已被警告可能會發生異常大規模的集會以及潛在的問題。
然而，當人群擁擠時，現場的一個又一個驚慌失措的人撥打了警察和消防部門的熱線，描述了人群、混亂和危險。 但援助來得很慢。
去年由國家警察廳主導的政府調查讓倖存者和受害者親屬感到不滿和憤怒。
中央政府表示，由於萬聖節慶祝活動尚未正式組織，因此對當晚梨泰院的公共安全不負有責任，這一回應引起了許多韓國人的蔑視和嘲笑。 去年，只有少數大多數是中層警察和其他官員因刑事疏忽和類似指控而被起訴，而內政部長等高級政府官員則被證明沒有不當行為。
去年年初，當警察機構結束調查時，它要求檢察官對金正恩提出起訴，罪名是未能採取預防措施，例如指派人群控制官員和搞亂應急反應。 但檢察官直到週五才採取行動。 週五，另外兩名警察也被起訴，使因梨泰院災難而接受審判的總人數達到 21 人。
如果 Kim 被定罪，他可能面臨最高五年的監禁或最高 15,000 美元的罰款。 被指控刑事指控的政府官員也將被停職，等待審判結果。
受害者家屬對金正恩「遲來的」起訴表示歡迎。 他們長期以來一直指責尹錫烈總統領導的政府拒絕坦白自己的缺點，並因梨泰院災難而解僱高級安全官員。
他們在聲明中表示： “尹總統必須立即解僱首爾警察局長。” “對額外人員的起訴必須是適當懲罰梨泰院災難責任人的第一步。”
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