China News Service, January 20 (Xinhua) According to reports from Yonhap News Agency and Agence France-Presse, the Western District Prosecutor's Office of Seoul, South Korea issued a statement on the 19th local time stating that Kim Kwang-ho, the director of the Seoul Police Department, was charged with duty-related manslaughter. This charge is related to 2022 Related to the stampede accident in Itaewon, South Korea.
According to reports, the statement pointed out that as the city police chief, Kim Kwang-ho was able to "foresee the potential dangers caused by overcrowding" on the day of the accident, but "failed to take necessary measures such as deploying sufficient police forces and ensuring appropriate command and supervision."
Yonhap News Agency said Kim Kwang-ho is the highest-ranking police officer currently charged in connection with the accident, but has not been detained.
The police are expected to take follow-up actions and may remove Kim Kwang-ho from his post.
The family members of the victims said they regretted the prosecutor's lengthy decision-making process before charging Kim Kwang-ho and demanded that Kim "must leave his post immediately and face trial."
In January 2023, Jin Guanghao and 22 other officials from the police, rescue department and regional office were transferred to the prosecutor by the police special investigation team for improper response to the Itaewon incident.
Prosecutors later indicted the former Seoul Yongsan District Police Chief and other officials, but have not decided whether to prosecute Kim Kwang-ho for more than a year.
According to previous reports, on the evening of October 29, 2022, a stampede occurred in Itaewon, Seoul, South Korea.
A total of 159 people were killed and nearly 200 injured in the accident.
South Korean media said that the scale of casualties in this accident was the largest stampede accident in South Korea. It was also the accident with the largest number of casualties in South Korea after the "Sewol" shipwreck in 2014 that killed 304 people.