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full screenA memorial site in Itaewon after the tragedy that occurred during the Halloween celebrations in 2022. Stock photo. Photo: Ahn Young-Joon/AP/TT
A district police chief in charge of Seoul’s Itaewon entertainment district is sentenced to three years in prison for failing to prevent the disaster in October 2022, when around 150 people died during a Halloween celebration.
“It was foreseeable that a large crowd would gather in the sloping alley in Itaewon and that it would lead to serious danger to life and physical safety during the 2022 Halloween weekend,” the Seoul court announced in its decision.
Around 100,000 people had gathered in Itaewon to celebrate Halloween, the first major post-pandemic event in the country. People began to rush in different directions and the crowd crowded into narrow alleys with no way to escape the pressure.