The former head of a local police station in Seoul has been sentenced to three years in jail over a deadly 2022 Halloween crowd crush, making him the highest-ranking law enforcement official to be held criminally liable over the disaster.
Almost 160 people died in the crowd crush at the trendy Itaewon nightlife district on October 29 that year, in what was one of South Korea’s deadliest disasters that left the nation reeling.
Lee Im-jae, former chief of the Yongsan police station, which oversees safety in Itaewon, is one of multiple officers to be prosecuted for failing to adequately prepare for the huge Halloween crowds.
Seoul Western District Court said Monday it found Lee and two other former Yongsan police officers guilty of neglecting their duties, which resulted in deaths and injuries, despite signs that “the danger of large-scale casualties” was foreseeable.
Lee was also found guilty of failing to put in place sufficient crowd control and dispatch intelligence officials to the site. The court also found Lee delayed in reacting to the disaster. He was cleared of perjury.
He is the most senior police officer to be convicted, after a court sentenced an intelligence officer to 18 months’ jail while imposing shorter, suspended sentences on his two subordinates on charges of destroying evidence earlier this year.
In January, Seoul’s former police chief was indicted for negligence in connection with the tragedy. He has also been on trial and is awaiting a verdict.
Itaewon, home to some of Seoul’s popular restaurants and bars, had hosted Halloween celebrations for years.
According to police emergency call logs on the day of the incident, multiple calls from members of the public were made about overcrowding as early as four hours before the situation gravely worsened.
Four police dispatches were sent out to Itaewon. But crowds had already swelled and the streets became so packed that partygoers were unable to move.
Some slipped below the feet of others, unable to breathe. Most who died that night were young South Koreans – largely in their teens and early 20s.
Public outrage turned toward South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol and his government at the time, with critics decrying the lack of accountability.
Last year, the Seoul Metropolitan Government announced a slew of new measures “to ensure a safe Halloween” – including a new CCTV system to monitor crowd numbers.
Other places in Asia also scrambled to learn from Seoul’s mistake and took measures to avoid the repeat of the tragedy.
In Japan, authorities are encouraged young people last year to avoid popular areas in the nightlife district of Shibuya, a popular gathering spot on Halloween night.
In the city of Guangzhou in southeastern China, operators of an underground metro service banned “scary makeup and dressing” on trains to “prevent any potential panic.”
