On the 19th, the Seoul Western District Procuratorate, which is investigating the ‘Halloween disaster’, indicted Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency Commissioner Kim Gwang-ho (60) without detention on charges of professional negligence resulting in death. The prosecution found that Commissioner Kim was guilty of failing to properly deploy a security guard despite foreseeing the risk of an accident after receiving reports that crowds were concentrated during the Halloween disaster in Itaewon, Seoul, October 2022.
The fact that the Western District Prosecutor’s Office indicted Commissioner Kim without detention on this day was in response to the recommendation of the Investigation Review Board of the Supreme Prosecutor’s Office on the 15th to be “9 indictments out of 6 non-indictments “. Police, who previously investigated the Halloween disaster, transferred Commissioner Kim to the Western District Prosecutor’s Office with a recommendation for indictment in January last year. Opinions within the prosecution subsequently divided on whether to indict, and for over a year no conclusions were reached. As a result, Attorney General Lee Won-seok ex officio convened the Investigation Review Committee and issued a recommendation to indict Commissioner Kim.
Commissioner Kim passed the 35th Civil Service Exam and served as spokesperson of the National Police Agency, director of the Cyber Investigation Bureau, and head of the Ulsan Police Agency before being appointed commissioner of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency in June 2022. His retirement is scheduled for June of this year. The National Civil Service Law states that public officials can be dismissed from their positions if they are indicted, and Commissioner Kim is expected to be dismissed from his positions as a result.
Meanwhile, the Western District Prosecutor’s Office also indicted four people, including Superintendent Ryu Mi-jin and a 112 Operations Room manager, who were serving as situation management officers at the Metropolitan Police Agency of Seoul on the day of the Halloween disaster, without detention. charges of manslaughter due to professional negligence or incitement to destroy evidence. Former Yongsan police chief Lee Im-jae, previously indicted on charges of professional negligence causing death, was also charged with giving false testimony during a National Assembly hearing. On the other hand, former Yongsan Fire Station chief Choi Seong-beom and Yongsan Fire Station foreman were not charged.
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