hankyoreh

Two people crouch and cry on the floor of a gymnasium in Seoul where items found in the aftermath of the Itaewon disaster were laid out on Nov. 1, 2022. (Kim Jung-hyo/The Hankyoreh)

A Seoul court has sentenced Park Seong-min, a former senior intelligence officer at the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, to prison for ordering the destruction of evidence related to the 2022 Itaewon crowd crush. Because the verdict essentially acknowledged prosecutors’ argument that decisions by senior police officials contributed to the deadly disaster, the recent ruling has led to speculation that the former Seoul police chief, Kim Kwang-ho, could be charged for professional negligence that led to the tragedy. 

The 11th criminal division of the Seoul Western District Court sentenced Park to 18 months in prison for destruction of evidence on Wednesday. Park ordered the erasure of four internal reports on safety concerns and overcrowding, factors that led to the crowd crush that killed nearly 160 people in Itaewon on Halloween weekend in 2022. The court’s acknowledgment of the illegality of Park’s command could lead to further scrutiny of actions taken by other senior police officials. 

Kim and Lee Im-jae, the former head of the Yongsan Police Station, have both been indicted for involuntary manslaughter due to professional negligence. Prosecutors are asserting that Kim received internal reports about the potential for accidents caused by a massive increase in crowds during 2022 Halloween celebrations, but that he ignored the reports and took no preventative measures. 

Park’s sentence essentially acknowledges that Kim was aware of the potential for danger but took no professional action. Lee is currently being tried by the same court that sentenced Park. Kim is currently being tried in a different court. The courts have also stated that it is the state’s duty to investigate the causes of and responses to the crowd crush, identify the responsible parties, and take measures to prevent a repeat of a similar incident.

Cheon Yun-seok, an attorney with Minbyun-Lawyers for a Democratic Society who is representing victims of the disaster, said that the ruling “confirmed that preparations before a disaster and responses after the fact are a critical duty that must be performed by the state. This is something that must ultimately take shape through the actions of civil servants, but the fact [the defendants] did not carry out such actions is what directly ties them to charges of involuntary manslaughter due to professional negligence, and so if the courts [for each case] maintain a unified perspective on this, it appears likely that a conviction will be made.”

Cho In-yeong, an organizer with a citizen’s action committee on the Itaewon disaster saw hope in the convictions of police officials this week.  

“I think the court made it clear that this disaster was not simply an individual-level one, but the outcome of structural problems, and that there are still facts that need to be brought to light,” Cho said. 

“There’s still a lot of questions that haven’t been answered, like why no preparations were made even after being briefed on the danger of an accident. Because of that, an independent body must be established and for that, the ‘Itaewon special act’ is necessary,” they added. 

By Kim Ga-yoon, staff reporter

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