A district police chief responsible for Seoul's entertainment district Itaewon is sentenced to a three-year prison sentence for failing to prevent the disaster in October 2022, when around 150 people died during a Halloween celebration.
"It was predictable that a large crowd would gather in the sloping alley in Itaewon and that it would lead to serious danger to life and physical safety during the Halloween weekend in 2022," the Seoul court announces in its verdict.
Another police officer is sentenced to two years in prison and a third receives a two-year suspended sentence. All three are convicted of negligence leading to death. According to the court, the incident could have been avoided.
Around 100,000 people had gathered in Itaewon to celebrate Halloween, the first major event after the pandemic in the country. People started rushing in different directions and the crowd was squeezed into narrow alleys with no opportunity to escape the pressure.
