[News Today] ITAEWON TRAGEDY COURT RULING

[LEAD]
Following the Itaewon tragedy, former Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency Chief, Kim Kwang-ho, was sent to trial for his poor response. Prosecutors requested a five-year prison term for him, but the first trial has found him not guilty. The court acknowledged unfortunate aspects in the performance of his duties, but stated that professional negligence cannot be exactly proven.

[REPORT]
Former Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency chief Kim Kwang-ho was sent to trial in January for failing to respond to the Itaewon crowd crush.

Kim Kwang-ho/ Ex-chief of Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency
(Do you believe you're not responsible?) ...

Prosecutors requested a five-year prison term for him, but the first trial has found him not guilty.

Shin Hyun-wook / KBS reporter
Judges ruled it was difficult for Kim to fully anticipate the risk of big tragedy.

While expressing regret that state functions failed during a social disaster, the court noted that the evidence presented by the prosecution was insufficient to strictly prove professional negligence or causality.

The court also noted that Kim had instructed measures to be taken before Halloween and ordered the deployment of officers after being briefed on the tragedy.

As a former chief superintendent general, Kim was the highest-ranking police official to be indicted for the tragedy. He stepped down from his post as police chief in June this year.

Ryu Mi-jin and Jeong Dae-kyung, two officers who worked at the agency's 112 situation room at the time, have also been acquitted.

The bereaved families strongly protested the verdicts.

Lee Jung-min/ Association of families of Itaewon tragedy victims
What does "there's a problem but no crime" mean? What can the authorities actually do for the people?

Former Yongsan Police Station chief Lee Im-jae has been sentenced to three years in jail on the same charges. Yongsan-gu District chief, Park Hee-young, was found not guilty.

With the verdict on Kim, the first trial for most key figures related to the tragedy have concluded.