Deadly stampede in South Korea: two officers arrested, families dissatisfied
The bodies of the victims, covered with blankets in the nightlife district of Itaewon, in Seoul on Sunday October 30, 2022. AFP - YELIM LEE
Text by: RFI Follow
2 mins
More than a month after the Itaewon disaster where a tragic mob led to the death of at least 158 people, the first arrests have taken place.
While the inaction and unpreparedness of the police have been documented, two police officers were arrested on Monday, December 5.
But no member of the government or very senior official has yet been forced to resign despite the intensification of popular and political judicial pressure.
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With our correspondent in Seoul,
Nicolas Rocca
“
We don't want money, but we want those responsible to be punished
,” the families of the victims said last week.
The first arrests have now taken place.
It is an officer of the intelligence services of the Seoul police, and another of the police of Yongsan, the district where the tragedy took place.
The first is accused of having ordered the deletion of a report evoking the possibility of an accident during the Halloween period, and the second of having carried out the orders.
They are therefore accused of having wanted to camouflage the inaction of the police.
►Also read:
Deadly stampede in Korea
Towards a ministerial resignation?
But these arrests should not be enough to appease the bereaved families, some of them demanded last week the resignation of the Minister of the Interior and Security.
Lee Sang-min, much criticized since the disaster, is the target of two complaints from firefighters' unions and civil servants, and a search took place at his ministry.
A parliamentary inquiry into the disaster began last month and MPs from the Democratic opposition, the majority in Parliament, tabled a motion of no confidence in the minister to try to force him to resign.
It will be studied during the plenary sessions on Thursday 8 and Friday 9 December.
►Also read:
South Korea: Itaewon tragedy, the relatives of the victims come out of the silence
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