Report on the Halloween tragedy in Seoul criticizes the “inability of the authorities”

Jan. 13 (EUROPA PRESS) –

The South Korean Police completed this Friday an investigation into the mass gathering in the Itaewon neighborhood, Seoul, due to the celebration of Halloween in which more than 150 people died, concluding that this disaster was caused “by the inability of the authorities”.

The investigation team has pointed out that authorities such as the district office, police or fire brigade did not take any proper action for emergency rescue or disaster control, Yonhap news agency reported.

The lack of these measures, as indicated by the guidelines for emergency situations, would have been what caused the high number of fatalities.

As a result, several people, including former Yongsan District Police Chief Lee Im Jae and Yongsan Mayor Park Hee Young, have been arrested on charges of negligence, as have other police officers, including a former official from the Seoul Metropolitan Police (SMPA), charged with suppressing internal reports about a possible accident due to overcrowding.

Meanwhile, other officials, such as the head of the SMPA or the district’s fire chief, have been referred for prosecution, without arrest for fatal professional negligence or other related charges.

However, senior government officials have not been named in the report. Investigators have decided not to hold any officials from the Ministry of the Interior, the Seoul administration or the National Police responsible, stating that they are not legally responsible.