"Responding to the poor response to the Itaewon disaster." Before Yongsan chief's safe for 3 years...the head of the district office is innocent

[Anchor]
Former Yongsan Police Chief Lee Lim-jae and Yongsan-gu District Commissioner Park Hee-young, who are accused of poor response during the Itaewon disaster, in which 159 people were killed, were sentenced in the first trial.

The court sentenced police officials, including former chief Lee, to prison, but saw that officials from Yongsan-gu District Office, including Mayor Park, were not guilty.

I'll connect you with more news and reporters. Reporter Yoon Woong Sung!

The court made mixed judgments?

[Reporter]
Yes, the court's judgment was mixed with joy and sorrow.

Earlier, the Seoul Western District Court sentenced former Yongsan Police Chief Lee Im-jae to three years in prison, saying he was found guilty of professional manslaughter.

The court judged that former Chief Lee was responsible for preparing and responding to comprehensive and effective measures as the head of the police station in charge of security in Yongsan-gu.

As such, he criticized that he had to predict the accident sufficiently and take appropriate measures, but he neglected safety preparations with a complacent perception, resulting in a disaster.

However, he was acquitted of charges such as requiring his subordinates to falsely record the time of arrival at the scene of the disaster.

In addition, he did not arrest him in court, saying there was no fear of destroying evidence.

Two police officers, including Song Byung-joo, the former head of the 112 situation room in Yongsan, who were handed over to trial together, also sentenced them to two years and one year in prison, respectively, for raising their anger through poor management of the situation.

However, the court acquitted all district officials, including Mayor Park.

The court ruled that professional negligence was not recognized because there was no obligation in the Disaster Safety Act to establish a separate safety plan for events without organizers.Even after the

accident, there were no complaints related to the crush or requests for cooperation from police and fire fighting at the district office, and even if the district office's administrative measures were delayed, it was difficult to recognize the cause and effect of the disaster.

In particular, he said that the administrative agency does not have the authority to control or disperse the influx of crowds to certain places, and that it is difficult to say that they have a specific duty of care.

The bereaved families burst into tears, saying they could not accept the results of the trial.

[Lee Jung-min / Chairman of the Itaewon bereaved family council: We cannot accept the results of today's trial. It's absolutely unacceptable, it's unacceptable.]

While the court only admitted former Chief Lee's charges of professional manslaughter, attention is also being paid to the results of the remaining first trial related to the Itaewon disaster, including former Seoul Mayor Kim Kwang-ho.

I'm YTN Yoon Woong Sung.