Prosecutors appeal Lee Lim-jae's imprisonment and Park Hee-young's innocence in the 'Itaewon disaster'..."You have to be sentenced to a serious sentence."

The prosecution appealed the first trial's ruling, which sentenced former Yongsan Police Chief Lee Im-jae and Yongsan-gu District Office Chief Park Hee-young, who are suspected of responding poorly during the Itaewon disaster, to three years in prison and not guilty, respectively.

The Seoul Western District Prosecutors' Office said today (7th) that it appealed to former Chief Lee and Mayor Park as it decided that a heavier sentence should be sentenced.

Prosecutors argued that the court's acquittal of officials from Yongsan-gu District Office, including Mayor Park, misunderstood the fact that it gave local governments the responsibility to protect the people from disasters and come up with countermeasures under the Disaster Safety Act and misunderstood the law.

He also added that the acquittal of Mayor Park and former Chief Lee in connection with the alleged manipulation of the arrival time was also a misunderstanding of the law, adding that it should be corrected.

In particular, he stressed the need for a more serious sentence, saying that the consequences of the defendants' negligence were serious, that they were not seriously reflecting on the responsibility of the accident.

The prosecution also appealed the first trial ruling of seven people, including the remaining police officers and district officials.