Former Seoul Mayor Kim Kwang-ho of the 'Itaewon disaster' is innocent of the first trial..."It's hard to predict the disaster".

[Anchor]
The first trial court acquitted Kim Kwang-ho, the former head of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, who was accused of poor response during the Itaewon disaster.

The head of the Seoul Metropolitan Government, which has jurisdiction over the entire city, had no choice but to rely on information reports from the front lines, making it difficult to predict the disaster.

I'll connect you to a reporter. Reporter Yoon Woong Sung!

Please tell me the details of the court's sentence.

[Reporter]
Kim Kwang-ho, former head of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, is the highest-ranking police official accused of responding to the Itaewon disaster.

The Seoul Western District Court acquitted Kim, the former head of the Seoul Metropolitan Government, of charges of professional negligence and other charges.

The court said that the head of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, which has jurisdiction over the entire city, has no choice but to rely on information reporting from the Yongsan Police Station.Based on the report, former Commissioner Kim

judged that it was not possible to specifically grasp the information that there was a concern or need to prepare for large-scale casualties.

In addition, he said, "Former Commissioner Kim ordered to take preliminary measures not only in the Department of Living Safety but also in various functions such as expenses," adding, "It is difficult to say that there is a strict dereliction of duty under the criminal law."

In particular, he said he ordered the police task force to be dispatched immediately after recognizing the accident, adding that it is hard to say that the damage has been expanded because of former Commissioner Kim.

Ryu Mi-jin, former head of personnel education department at the Seoul Metropolitan Government, and Jeong Dae-kyung, former head of the 112 situation team, were also acquitted at the time of the accident.

It is difficult to say that former manager Ryu, who worked outside the situation room, did his job properly, but it is difficult to say that he could have prevented the occurrence of casualties by not having such negligence in his work.

Former situation team leader Chung also spread the situation of "Code Zero Report," the highest level of dispatch to Yongsan Police Station, but the Yongsan Police Department officers who were dispatched to the scene reported it as a closure, making it difficult to recognize whether there was a safety accident.

{Former Commissioner Kim and others left the court without answering reporters' questions after being acquitted.

I'll listen to it myself.

[Kim Kwang-ho / Former Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency Commissioner: (Do you have anything to say about today's ruling?)]. (I'm innocent. How do you feel?). (Do you have anything to say to the victims?)….]

The bereaved families, who have been picking up the relay in front of the court calling for strict punishment from former Commissioner Kim since two days ago, continued to protest today.

The trial was suspended in the middle of the trial because the bereaved families shouted that they could not understand the ruling, and the anger continued even after the sentence.

[Yi Tae-won's bereaved family: It's a police indulgence. Exoneration. It's a trial that gives an indulgence that the police can't take any responsibility if such incidents happen in the future..]

Earlier, the prosecution demanded five years in prison, saying that former Commissioner Kim did not deploy appropriate police forces even though he predicted 100,000 people would gather,
I asked the court to sentence former section chief
and former team leader Chung to three years and two and a half years in prison, respectively.

Today, he expressed his position in principle that he would consider whether to appeal based on the court's ruling.

I'm YTN Yoon Woong Sung.