South Korea Halloween crowd crush: Cops blame negligence for fatal incident

The South Korean Police on Friday (January 13) blamed negligence and planning failures for the Halloween stampede in the Itaewon neighbourhood of Seoul on October 29 last year that killed 159 people. A special investigation team, which spent months combing through evidence and interviewing officials, said there were massive planning and response failures, a report by the news agency AFP said.

Speaking to reporters on Friday, Sohn Je-hanm who led the investigation, said, "Organisationsthat are legally obligated to prevent and respond to disasters -- police, district offices and Seoul Metro -- did not establish safety measures in advance or came up with poor plans." Je-hanm said that on the day of the disaster, appropriate measures were not taken even after receiving rescue requests.

Add WION as a Preferred Source

ALSO READ | Police officer facing investigation for Itaewon Halloween crush in South Korea found dead

The poor cooperation between agencies and delay in communications and relief efforts contributed to a higher number of deaths in the stampede, according to the report.

The investigation team named 23 people, including the head of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, to prosecutors. On the other hand, six people have been arrested including Lee Im-jae, the former head of the Yongsan Police Station, which oversees Itaewon, and Park Hee-young, the head of the Yongsan district office.

No top government officials blamed by special team, bereaved families criticise probe

In its probe, the special investigation team of the South Korean Police did not blame officials from the Seoul city government, the interior ministry, or the national policy agency. Sohn Je-hanm said on Friday the reason for this was that it was "difficult to conclude that there was a concrete violation of duty", the AFP report said. Opposition lawmakers and bereaved families have criticised the police investigation for failing to hold top officials accountable for the tragedy.

"We have so many questions unanswered," Lee Jong-chul, head of a group representing the bereaved families, told reporters as he arrived at a prosecutors' office in Seoul, a report by news agency Reuters on Friday said. Jong-chu said he came to the office to give a victim's statement, expecting a better and expanded probe.

Following the October 29 tragedy, South Korea's Minister of Interior and Safety Lee Sang-min has faced calls to step down. Lee Sang-min has been widely criticised for claiming that having more personnel from the police and the fire department would not have prevented the stampede. The minister issued repeated apologies including in person to the victim's families last week, the AFP report said. However, he has not offered to step down from the top post.

(With inputs from agencies)

WATCH WION LIVE HERE

You can now write for wionews.com and be a part of the community. Share your stories and opinions with us here.