China News Service, January 9th, according to Yonhap News Agency reported on the 9th that the months-long investigation into the Itaewon stampede is expected to end before the Spring Festival. The officers involved were handed over to the prosecution.

  Kim Kwang-ho, who could be charged with negligence, is expected to be the highest-ranking police officer to be held accountable in the incident, the report said.

Data map: At noon on November 1, 2022 local time, people mourned the victims of the Itaewon stampede at the collective incense place in Seoul Square.

Photo by China News Agency reporter Liu Xu

  According to reports, other officials who will be handed over to the prosecution include Cui Chengfan, director of the Yongsan District Fire Department that governs the Itaewon area, and Liu Mizhen, a former senior police officer in charge of emergency monitoring at the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency.

  The Itaewon Accident Special Investigation Headquarters believes that the "specific" responsibility for the accident is not the central government or the Seoul Metropolitan Government, but the local police, fire department and government departments in Yongsan District.

The Special Investigations Headquarters is not expected to bring charges against South Korean National Police Agency Chief Yoon Hee-geun and other officials from the Ministry of the Interior and the Seoul Metropolitan Government, the report said.

  It is reported that the Itaewon stampede occurred on October 29, 2022. The accident killed 159 people, most of whom were young people in their 20s.