A Seoul court sentenced a senior police officer to three years in prison on Monday, convicting him of contributing through negligence to a Halloween crowd crush that killed nearly 160 people in 2022 in one of South Korea’s worst peacetime disasters.
Lee Im-jae, the former chief of police in Yongsan District, the area in central Seoul where the disaster happened, was the most senior police officer to be found guilty of a crime related to the shocking tragedy.
Victims’ families remain deeply unsatisfied and angry with the government’s investigation into the deadly crowd crush.
So far a handful have been convicted, with the longest sentence being handed to Mr. Lee.
But on Monday, the district court acquitted Park Hee-young, the elected mayor of Yongsan District, of criminal negligence, allowing her to continue in office.
Persons:
convicting, Lee Im, , Prosecutors, Lee, Hee
Organizations:
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Locations:
Seoul, Yongsan District