Tag: Itaewon

The cover up is what caused these senior police officials to be convicted of a crime, not the incompetence that contributed to the Itaewon crowd crush disaster:

A South Korean court on Wednesday convicted three former police officers of destroying internal files and other evidence in an attempted cover-up after a Halloween crowd crush that killed nearly 160 people in the capital, Seoul, in 2022. They were the first convictions over the deaths. The high death toll was largely blamed on official failures in disaster planning and a botched emergency response. More than 20 government and police officials were indicted.

The Seoul Western District Court sentenced Park Seong-min, a former senior intelligence officer at the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, to 18 months in prison on charges that he ordered subordinates to erase internal documents after the crush. Those included reports showing how police ignored warnings about possible crowd-related accidents in the nightlife district of Itaewon. Kim Jin-ho, a former intelligence officer at Seoul’s Yongsan district police station, received a suspended one-year sentence on similar charges. Kwang Yeong-seok, a lower-ranking officer at the Yongsan station, received a four-month deferred sentence after being found guilty of destroying files under Kim’s instruction.

Stars & Stripes

You can read more at the link, but what continues to amaze me about this Itaewon tragedy is that there is a police station right across the street from the Hamilton Hotel where the disaster happened. The police received warnings for hours of the dangerous crowds in the area and nothing was done by the police personnel in the station right across the street.

The Yoon administration is probably calculating that a new investigation will not try and determine what caused the Itaewon crowd crush, but instead try to create a narrative to blame it all on Yoon to impeach him:

President Yoon Suk Yeol on Tuesday vetoed a special bill mandating a new investigation into the Itaewon crowd crush in 2022, his office said.

Yoon exercised his veto power by endorsing a motion demanding the National Assembly reconsider the legislation that the main opposition Democratic Party (DP) railroaded through the National Assembly earlier this month.

The motion was approved during a Cabinet meeting earlier in the day.

The legislation, which will now be sent back to the Assembly, calls for establishing a special investigation committee to reexamine the causes of the deadly crowd crush that claimed 159 lives in a narrow alley in central Seoul’s Itaewon during Halloween weekend in 2022 and to ensure the rights of the victims.

Prime Minister Han Duck-soo said the legislation gives the special investigation committee too much power in a way that could potentially undermine constitutional principles and that fairness and neutrality cannot be guaranteed in the committee’s formation.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link, but the only questions I have remaining from the Itaewon crushing disaster is who started the pushing at the top of the hill that led to people falling on top of each other like dominoes? Finally why did it take a police station literally across the street from the Hamilton Hotel four hours to respond to overcrowding in the area?

The government is still indicting people over the Itaewon crowd crushing tragedy:

Prosecutors have indicted two police officers over the bungled response to the deadly 2022 crowd crush in the district of Itaewon, officials said Monday.

The indictment of the two officers who were overseeing patrol duties at a precinct station in Itaewon came a year and three months after the crowd crush on Oct. 29, 2022, which killed 159 people on a Halloween weekend in the district’s entertainment neighborhood.

The Seoul Western District Prosecutors Office has charged them with professional negligence resulting in death, accusing them of failing to properly respond to 11 emergency calls seeking police help in the last hours of the deadly accident.

One of them was also charged with entering a false record of visiting the accident site on that day into the police intranet, the officials said.

The two are the last government officials to be indicted in connection with the crowd crush, among the 23 that a special police investigation team referred to the prosecution in January 2023.

Last week, the prosecution indicted Kim Kwang-ho, the chief of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, on charges of professional negligence for the botched disaster response, making him the highest-ranking government official indicted in connection with the crowd crush. 

Korea Herald

You can read more at the link.

Here is the DP once again demagoging a tragic accident to score political points. There was clearly poor planning at the local level that contributed to this tragedy, however the opposition makes it seem like President Yoon should of been out there leading crowd control that tragic night:

Lee Jae-myung, leader of the main opposition Democratic Party, delivers a speech at Seoul Plaza in the capital city during a memorial event to mark the first anniversary of the deadly Itaewon crowd crush that killed 159 people during Halloween celebrations last year, in this photo taken on Sunday. (Yonhap)

The main opposition Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung vowed Sunday to get to the truth about the deadly Itaewon crowd crush and work to hold those accountable to prevent such a tragedy from happening again.

Lee made the pledge during a memorial event held to mark the first anniversary of the deadly crowd crush that took the lives of 159 people during Halloween celebrations in the popular hangout district of Itaewon.

“It has been one year since 159 universes, and 159 worlds collapsed, but nothing has changed. The desperate appeals by the bereaved families are again ignored today, and those in power are only bent on covering up the truth,” Lee said in a speech at Seoul Plaza.

“We will reveal the truth by quickly passing special legislation on the Itaewon tragedy, hold those responsible accountable and make sure something like this won’t happen again,” Lee said.

Korea Herald

You can read more at the link.

It makes sense that people would not be in a festive mood only one year after the deadly Itaewon crowd crushing tragedy:

This photo, taken Oct. 28, 2023, shows safety fences set up in an alley of Seoul’s Itaewon to prevent a possible increase in people ahead of Halloween. (Yonhap)

 South Koreans avoided boisterous Halloween celebrations Saturday, the eve of the country marking one year after the deadly crowd crush in Seoul’s Itaewon district that claimed 159 lives, with people mourning the death of the victims.

The crowd crush, the deadliest ever in South Korea, took place in the nightlife district of Itaewon on Oct. 29, 2022, a Saturday night when about 100,000 people flocked to the area for Halloween celebrations.

Late Saturday, Seoul’s crowded entertainment areas, including Itaewon and Hongdae, were bustling with citizens and foreign tourists, just like any ordinary weekend, but there seemed to be no uproarious Halloween celebrations.

“I used to enjoy Halloween parties, but I’ve decided to spend this year’s Halloween quietly due to last year’s accident. I think it would be difficult to enjoy Halloween in Itaewon,” said Kim Hyung-seok, 28, who visited Itaewon with his girlfriend.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

That is the debate in South Korea right now in regards to whether it is too soon to celebrate Halloween one year after the horrible crushing tragedy that killed 159 people:

Controversy has arisen over whether visiting Seoul’s popular nightlife district Itaewon to celebrate Halloween this year is acceptable, as the one-year anniversary of the crowd crush that took the lives of 159 mostly young people approaches.

On Sunday, an online community post posed the question: “Is going to Itaewon this Halloween a thoughtless act?” The post presented two options — “It’s thoughtless” and “No problem at all” — soon sparking fervent discussion with hundreds of comments.

While there were several reactions of concern over enjoying Halloween in Itaewon, the general consensus leaned toward the notion that visiting Itaewon for this year’s holiday would be acceptable. However, many emphasized the importance of commemorating the Itaewon tragedy and being cautious of each other’s safety, rather than solely indulging in Halloween festivities.

Korea Herald

You can read more at the link.