A South Korean police officer under investigation into the deadly stampede in Seoul that killed more than 150 people over Halloween weekend was found dead on Friday, national police said.
This 55-year-old police officer, identified only by his last name, Jeong, was notably suspected of destroying a confidential report. He worked at the Itaewon District Police Station in central Seoul, where 156 people were killed, suffocated and crushed in a mass movement on the night of October 29.
The intelligence officer was found dead at his home in Seoul, a national police official said.
Suspected of having ordered the destruction of a report
His police station, in charge that afternoon of monitoring the neighborhood and supervising the festivities, is one of the objectives of the extensive investigation opened after the disaster.
Among other charges, the officer was suspected of ordering the destruction of an intelligence report that warned of the risk of an accident due to the unprecedented crowds expected that night, according to the Yonhap news agency. As part of the investigation, the national police raided the Itaewon District Police Station.
Transcripts of the emergency calls, made public by the police, show that the police station had received 11 reports alerting them that the crowd was dangerously dense during the four hours that preceded the tragedy. However, the police did not immediately intervene.
156 dead
On the night of October 29, more than 100,000 people had gathered in this district of narrow streets and sloping alleys to celebrate Halloween for the first time since the start of the pandemic.
Despite the unprecedented crowds, the police had deployed only 137 officers in Itaewon, while at the same time some 6,500 police officers were mobilized in another district for a smaller anti-government demonstration.
The 156 people who perished in the movement of the crowd are mostly young women, several teenagers and dozens of foreigners.
Some top South Korean officials, including the national police chief, the mayor of Seoul and the interior minister, apologized and admitted their lack of anticipation.
Source: BFM TV
